


Blood Ties

by JCRGirl



Category: Supernatural RPF
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-22
Updated: 2015-02-22
Packaged: 2018-03-14 12:24:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 24,567
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3410540
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JCRGirl/pseuds/JCRGirl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Family is everything. In a world of lies, betrayal and violence, Jared and Jensen find their way to each other…I know, summary sucks.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Notes: Written for the SPN Reverse BB on LJ. Thanks for my wonderful artist dulcetine for the inspiration and the beautiful art that brought my words alive. Also, my love to my spectacular beta phoenix1966 for the lightning fast beta and encouraging me to keep going and not trash the whole thing.

 

Lex shifted in his seat and rolled his shoulders. The silk of his shirt felt good – sensual – as it slid back and forth over his skin almost making up for the stuffiness of his suit coat. He was still adjusting to the claustrophobic feel of the heavy fabric on his back. Even before he was dropped off at child services with a note pinned to his shirt, winter coats had been a luxury and he’d grown up accustomed to lightweight material and the sluggishness of a constantly numb body. He surreptitiously tugged the Windsor knot at his neck then slid his hand down and under the open flap of his jacket, creating a little space for air to flow over his ribs.

“You’ll get used to it.” A large hand clapped him on the shoulder and he stiffened. Lex looked up, blushing slightly at being caught fidgeting.

His boss always struck an imposing figure, one befitting his station and status. He was an arousing combination of sophistication and sex appeal in his expensively tailored suit, the clean lines framing his athletic physique and hinting at the physical power underneath that matched the man’s mental prowess.

“Y-yes, sir,” Lex stammered still intimidated by the older man even after working for him for the better part of six months.

The boss grinned, squeezing his shoulder. “Relax, kid. I’m not going to hurt you.”

Lex relaxed, tight muscles going lax under the reassurance.

Winking, the other man’s smirk turned sharper. “Besides,” he leaned forward conspiratorially, “I’m not who you should be worried about. You need to keep an eye out for…”

A muffled pop was followed almost immediately by shattering glass as the picture on the wall exploded, cutting off the older man’s sentence. Instinctually, they grabbed each other and dropped to the floor.

Lex kicked the table over to use it as a shield just as another bullet whirred overhead, imbedding in the drywall and raining dust down on them. He pulled his gun from his shoulder holster, consciously forcing his nervously shaking fingers from holding the grip too tight. He closed his eyes and took a calming breath to center his thoughts like he’d been trained. Opening them, he shot a hard look at his boss that warned against argument, a complete change from the intimidated boy of a few minutes ago.

“Kitchen!” Lex jutted his chin in the direction of the swinging door behind them, this table chosen specifically by the head of security for its easy access to the exit. “Go!” He snapped going so far as to push the other man when he didn’t move. “Now!”

He watched as the door swung in the wake of the boss’ departure then peeked around the corner of the table. A man stood across the room near the bathroom hallway, using the wall as cover. Wood splintered next to Lex’s head as a bullet bit into the edge of the table.

“Son of a bitch,” he cursed, splinters digging into his face and hand.

Another chunk of table disintegrated and he pressed his back to the solid top of his shield. His breath huffed out, chest pistoning erratically as panic overruled the tremulous grasp he had on his training. He closed his eyes and gathered himself, steeling his resolve. He whipped out from behind the table and fired two shots in rapid succession, the first hitting his mark in the shoulder, the second in the chest. Letting out a relieved breath, his gun arm drooped.

Movement to his left caught his eye and he spun around. A man popped up from behind the bar, gun leveled at his chest. Lex flinched at the retort, body bracing for death, only to gasp when his would-be killer dropped, a red rose blooming across the crisp white of his shirt.

He turned to see which direction death was coming from this time and felt his knees go weak at the sight of the new arrival. Face shadowed and body silhouetted by the bright sunshine filtering in through the open door at his back, Lex recognized his savior. He began to shiver as adrenaline ebbed and gripped the edge of the upturned table for support. The figure rushed toward him and grasped his biceps. Lex winced, thankful for the thickness of the hated jacket, as strong fingers dug into muscle and flesh.

“Where is he?” The words were growled, hurried and heavy with worry. When Lex didn’t immediately answer, his mouth open but the words refusing to come, he was shaken roughly. “Alexander! Where is he? Is he safe?”

Blinking his eyes to clear the daze left in the wake of a near-death experience, Lex licked his lips and mumbled, “Kitchen.”

He suddenly found himself on the ground, shaky knees unprepared to support his weight when he was abruptly released. The breeze from the swinging door into the kitchen blew across his face and ruffled his hair. The faint scent of Eternity wafted to him on the gust of air.

“You okay, kid?” He hadn’t realized there was someone else there until a warm hand touched his arm. Christian Kane crouched beside him, face light but tinged with concern.

Lex stared into the man’s blue eyes, finding peace in the crystal depths where most only found intimidation. He let them center him, calm his lingering jitters, and finally was able to nod numbly.

“Your first right?”

“Yeah,” he croaked. Lex didn’t need an explanation. He was the rookie and his lack of “real” action had been the basis of most of the ribbing he took from the others on the security team. It was inevitable though. You didn’t work for the town’s oldest and most powerful family business without expecting some form of violence from time to time.

“Let’s get you up.” Chris helped him to his feet, steadying him when he swayed.

Lex looked over the damage the short gunfight had caused to the restaurant. He had a passing thought of how Giovanni and his family would pay for the repairs when his gaze landed on a set of highly polished dress shoes jutting out from behind the bar. There was a red starburst dotted with soft gray on the mirror behind it, cracks in the reflective glass fingering out from the center, where rifled metal met its end after passing through too forgiving flesh. He jerked his gaze away as a crimson rivulet trailed down to drip on the liquor bottles shelved at the mirror’s base.

His eyes drifted, coming to a stop on the body of the other man, lower half obscured by the wall he’d hidden behind. He was prone, torso bridging a lake of red – liquid life slowly absorbing into expensive nylon. Lex felt light-headed, stomach churning. He’d done that, he’d killed that man. There was a strange buzzing in his ears and hot acid burned his throat.

“Whoa, there. I think you need some water.” Chris tugged on his arm, but Lex’s body felt leaden.

He couldn’t tear his eyes away from the dead man lying in a puddle of his own blood. He heard Chris sigh, the rush of air sounding sympathetic, then felt the warmth of a body when the stockier man stepped up close.

“You did good, kid,” Chris’ voice was soft and soothing in his ear. “He was going to kill you. Came in here with the sole purpose of being the only one leaving. You just had better aim.” Chris urged him toward the door to the kitchen. “Now, about that water.”

Lex staggered after him, feet still moving on autopilot, the two of them stumbling through the kitchen door. Chris propped him against the counter and moved to get him a glass of water. Giovanni and his wife, Vera, hovered behind the daughter, Maria, who was kneeling on the ground next to Jensen, a damp washcloth in her hand, spots stained pink where it appeared she’d cleaned the nicks on Jensen’s face caused by the shattering picture. It never ceased to amaze Lex the reaction people had to Jensen. He was their Don, their protector, and they loved him.

Jared was on the man’s other side. His hands were ghosting over Jensen, visibly shaking even from across the room, searching for injuries. Finding none, Jared clasped Jensen’s arms. Jared looked so small, so frightened, and Lex couldn’t look away.

Jared was the reason that Lex was in this upscale restaurant confined by his suit, the reason he had somewhere safe to sleep and enough food to eat. Jensen might be the brains of the organization, but Jared was the eyes and ears. Nothing happened in Jensen’s territory that Jared didn’t know about and when he got wind of the runaway orphan trying to sell himself on the street, Jared had come up to him and made him an offer. Lex came with him right then, went to stay with a family that Jared knew and trusted, and in return all Lex had to do was keep his nose clean and finish his education. There was no soul binding pledges of loyalty, no indentured servitude. When Lex graduated, he could decide then to either work for Jensen or seek employment elsewhere. No questions, no repercussions. Lex had been young, just shy of his fifteenth birthday, but he wasn’t stupid and he knew a good deal when he saw one. Needless to say, he’d gone with Jared that night and been delivered to the doorstep of Jeffrey Dean and Kim, a couple who looked at Jared like he was an angel and talked about Jensen like he was the second coming. They’d welcomed Lex with open arms, introduced him to people as their nephew and treated him so much like he was, that sometimes it was hard to remember they weren’t blood. They fed him, loved him, supported him and he finally realized what a family was supposed to be. When he graduated, it was a no-brainer. He walked up to Jared, seated in the back row of the auditorium with a proud look on his face, and told him he wanted a job. If it wasn’t for Jared, Lex would probably had become another statistic, an unclaimed body in the morgue that turned into an unadorned grave at the cemetery. He owed Jared everything. So it was unsettling to see the man so vulnerable.

“Can’t even leave you alone for two minutes to go get the car,” Jared shook his head, voice trying and failing for lighthearted.

Jensen wrapped his fingers around Jared’s wrists, reassuring with warm pressure. His normally sharp, perceptive eyes were soft and tender. “You know me, never a dull moment.”

“Gonna have to keep you on lockdown.” Jared’s voice went thick and he swallowed.

“Nah, I was in good hands. Little Lex there took care of me.” Jensen leaned around Jared and winked at him.

Jared looked at him over his shoulder. “Yeah, he did.”

Lex flushed under the combined men’s praise and caught staring at the picture they created, thankful when Chris gave him a distraction in the form of the glass of water. He watched them over the lip of the glass. Their hands touched with a careless intimacy, casual affection shared without conscious thought. Their words were soft, soothing, like one would talk to a lover. Lex jolted at that thought.

He’d been around Jared since the day the older man had driven him away from that street corner, but his experience with Jensen had been limited so far. Lex was just now allowed to accompany the boss out when he conducted business and even then he’d been relegated to watching the car. Today, was his first time outside posh German engineering and also his first time witnessing Jared and Jensen in something less than a professional setting. He’d never known, would never had guessed, that these two titans of the crime world might be something more.

Chris cleared his throat quietly, shrewd eyes trained on him. “You got something to say there, kid?”

Lex almost choked on his swallow of water, forcing it down with a wince. “N-no, sir.”

“Good.” Chris’ voice didn’t broker any argument, the tone as final as a slamming door or more accurately, judging by the protective look in his eyes, a gunshot.

“Is everything alright?”

Lex sloshed his water down the front of his shirt, Jensen’s voice too close and shocking in its proximity. He felt trapped, caught like a thief with one hand in the till. Jared and Jensen stood before him, Giovanni and his family bustling out the door with broken, Italian accented English chattering away about contractors and damage, and Lex swallowed. The affection of a few minutes ago was gone, carefully hidden behind the masks that Lex now realized they showed the outside world.

“Yeah,” Chris chuckled, grabbing a dish towel from the counter and ineffectively swiping at the water dotting Lex’s jacket. “Kid, here, is still a little addled from everything he just saw.”

“You okay, Alexander?” Jared reached out and cupped his elbow, the warmth of his large hand bleeding through the multiple layers of fabric. His eyes were filled with concern, soft hazel regarding him with worry. Lex knew that Jared had truly hoped he would decide against joining the family, like a mother-henning uncle had urged him toward the collegiate and civilian route, but Lex had settled his heart and mind on working with Jared the moment “Aunt” Kim hugged him for the first time. In some kind of archaic mindset, he felt that since Jared had given him a life, that that life belonged to Jared. There was also the possibility that he’d watched too many movies.

He nodded mutely, jerking forward and spilling more water when Chris slapped his soundly on the back. Jared moved back just in time to avoid the splash zone.

“Yeah, he’ll be fine.” Chris took the glass and handed Lex the towel before he became any more sodden. “Like I said, just a little shaken by it all.” Sharp blue flashed for a fraction of a minute.

“Okay. You’re sure?” Jared squeezed his elbow again.

“Yeah,” he finally managed to croak. A safe feeling flowed over him, originating from the wide hand on his arm. There was such strength in that grip, yet Jared held him so gently and Lex couldn’t help but wonder what Jensen felt when those hands were on him.

“I think it’s time to leave.” Jensen broke his musings. “Chris make sure Gio and Vera have Steve’s number. I’d like him here by tomorrow at the latest. Also, when we get back to the house, call Dani at the gallery and have her send over something to replace the picture that was damaged. Maybe the one to the left of reception.”

“Yes, boss.” Chris took Jensen’s coat from Maria and held it out as he shrugged into it.

Jared released Lex’s arm, worry deepening the furrow between his brows, to take his and Lex’s coat from Vera. He handed the thick wool coat to Lex, eyes narrowed in scrutiny. “I’ll drive. Chris, sit in the back with Jensen.”

“Sure, Jare,” Chris agreed without hesitation.

Jensen regarded them with a measured look, gaze locking with Jared’s for a long moment before nodding once. Lex got the distinct impression that somehow the two men had carried on a full conversation with just that look.

Jared held out his arm and Chris then Jensen stepped out of the kitchen. Jared and Lex made up the rear and Lex didn’t miss the way that Jared’s hand rested tenderly, lovingly, on the small of Jensen’s back as he ushered Jensen into the waiting vehicle. How had he missed it? The touches, looks, soft words all seemed to make so much more sense now that he felt like a blind, oblivious fool.

He climbed into the front passenger seat, clicking his seatbelt as Jared slid into the driver’s seat. They rode in silence, the only sound the gentle hum of the car and the soft music on the radio. Jared seemed at ease, either completely unperturbed or unaware of Lex’s inner contemplation. The older man lightly drummed his fingers on the steering wheel to the beat of whatever song was on the radio, lips moving soundlessly to the lyrics. The car pulled up to the stately Ackles home, built by Jensen’s grandfather in the 1920s. Michael Ackles had been the first Don and had constructed his home to be intimidating to those who crossed him and yet welcoming to those he considered friends.

Jared navigated the car through the large wrought iron gate and into the garage. He killed the engine and hesitated for a moment. “Alexander?”

“Yes?” He’d stopped at the call of his name with his hand on the door and one foot on the concrete flooring of the garage.

“Once you’ve gotten settled, please meet me in the back study.” Jared’s voice was flat, no indication of anger or seriousness and Lex began to worry. Did Jared know that he’d figured out their secret? Was he going to be threatened? He’d seen Jared’s particular version of persuasion and he had no desire to be on the receiving end.

“Yes, sir.” He pushed his way out of the car and forced the door shut with trembling hands. His face must have shown some of what he felt because Chris shot him a confused look. He smiled in return and quickly made his way into the house. The only thing he could think to do was promise Jared that he’d never say anything and hope his boss believed him.

 

[ ](http://smg.photobucket.com/user/LaLaLovelace/media/ch1_zpshkvdkjjf.png.html)

 

He peeled off his coat and hung it in the front coat closet then checked his messages even though the only people who called him were Uncle JD and Aunt Kim and they didn’t call while he was at work. He wandered into the kitchen for some water and drank it in measured sips convincing himself that he was savoring the tasteless liquid. When he couldn’t find any other reason to put off seeing Jared he made his way to the back study.

The room was used as the private office Jared and Jensen shared in the house. Jensen’s associates were not privy to this space. They only ever saw the big office near the front of the house, imposing mahogany desk backed by floor-to-ceiling windows and an antique sideboard that housed expensive liquors in the cabinet and lethal weapons in the drawers. Lex had been told that the sideboard had been in Michael’s office and was the only piece of familial furniture still left in the house.

He knocked on the solid wood door and waited for Jared’s quiet ‘Come in’. Jared was behind a small desk, wood worn along the edges showing years of use, finishing a phone call on his cell. He motioned for Lex to sit and continued his conversation.

Lex had been in this room one other time, right after he’d been hired and then he was so nervous that he was concentrating on not losing his lunch instead of the surroundings. He noted the pictures along the fireplace mantle – aged faded photos of two young boys. The first was a kid, Lex guessed he was about four, holding a swaddled baby on his lap with a look of pride and awe on his face. The second was again of two boys, clearly a younger Jensen and Jared, with their arms slung around each other and smiling at the camera. Jensen’s face was tilted toward Jared’s, his eyes more on the younger boy than the lens and they twinkled with what Lex recognized as budding love. Three and four shared a plain silver frame, both of Jared and Jensen but one at Jensen’s graduation – Jensen resplendent in his dark maroon robes – and the other at Jared’s – Jared equally as striking in his own deep red robe. The last picture looked to be a recent capture of the two men. They must have been at some charity event as both were dressed in tuxedos and seemed to have a glass of champagne in their hands. Their free hands were around the other’s waist and they were pressed together from shoulder to knees. Jared was beaming brightly at the camera, a laugh captured forever lighting up his face, and Jensen was watching him with that same awe and pride as the boy in the first picture.

“That’ll be fine, Jason. Thank you for looking into it. I’ll expect your call tomorrow.” Lex pulled his attention from the photos just as Jared thumbed the screen of his phone to end the call.

Jared placed the phone to the right of the desk blotter, the edges perfectly square to one another, and folded his hands over the dark green felt. “Alexander,” Jared began, “I think today you might have realized something that only a handful of people have been trusted with.”

“I – I,” Lex stammered, “I didn’t mean to. I wasn’t trying to find anything out. I just sort of hit me all of the sudden, but, Jared, you have to know that I would never tell anyone. I mean I wouldn’t. Ever. I swear!”

“Alexander,” Jared held his hand out in a ‘whoa’ gesture. “Calm down. I’m not mad. You’re a smart kid. Much smarter than most of the muscle that we hire. We knew that you’d figure it out sooner or later.”

“Are you going to fire me?” Lex couldn’t help how meek he sounded. Uncle JD and Aunt Kim would be so disappointed. They were thrilled when Jensen agreed to hire him, proud that Lex would be working with Jared and Jensen. They’d be heartbroken to know that he got fired because he couldn’t keep his mind to himself.

“Fire you?” Jared jerked back in shocked confusion. “Why would I do that?”

“Well,” Lex fidgeted, “Cuz I know now.” He couldn’t keep his mouth from adding, “I might tell someone. I’m sure it’s not something y’all want to get out.”

“Not particularly, no,” Jared conceded, “But if it does, then no harm really. Most people think we’re sleeping together anyway. I’ve heard it’s quite the topic of conversation at the coffee shop. Plus, I already told you that we knew you’d figure it out. If I was worried that you’d tell someone, I wouldn’t have hired you.”

“Then….why?”

“I wanted to give you the story myself. I’d rather you not get it from someone who might not know what they’re talking about. Like I said, people have romanticized us and I know that Mrs. Biggs has tried to cast us in her own fantasized Harlequin romance.” Jared got up from his chair and walked over to the fireplace.

“Oh.” It sounded dumb to Lex’s own ears, but it was all he could think to say.

“I guess we should start at the beginning.” Jared smiled at the displayed photographs. “This was my mother’s favorite picture.” Jared picked up the picture of the small boy holding the baby. “She always said that Jensen looked so smug in it like he was saying ‘look what I did’. “

“Jensen knew your mother?” Lex knew that Jared’s parents had passed when he was barely a teenager so it surprised him that Jared’s mother knew Jensen.

“Oh, yeah. He knew both of my parents. I guess that is where our story truly begins.”


	2. Chapter 2

Jensen liked to tell people that he knew Jared before he was even born and in all honesty it wasn’t far from the truth. Heather Padalecki worked as Yvonne Ackles’ personal assistant, keeping her schedule and organizing her luncheons, but it seemed the thing that Yvonne needed the most assistance with was Jensen. Yvonne didn’t possess much in the way of maternal instinct and anything dealing with her only child was delegated to Heather. When Yvonne was too busy doing whatever occupied her days to pay attention to her sandy-haired, green-eyed angel, Heather was there. She read Jensen stories, played games with him, but most importantly she gave him the gift of her time. Her laugh came easily, the sound like the tinkling of the hanging crystals on the hall chandelier when the maid cleaned them, and she never tried to hide it behind her hand like Mother did. She allowed Jensen to learn and explore, safely encouraging his childish curiosity and feeding his need for knowledge. She supported him developmentally, intellectually and emotionally. Jensen was never turned away when he sought her out for affection or attention, was always welcomed with open arms, and he loved her.

Her husband, James, was just as kind as his wife. He worked for the Family, capital F, and sometimes he would stop by to see his wife and would spend a few minutes with them. Jensen could remember asking James one day what he did for his dad. Even at a young age, he knew that his father was important, but didn’t understand exactly what made him so. James winked at his wife and smiled at Jensen. “I’m an accountant, buddy. Do you know what an accountant does?”

Jensen shook his head.

“They account. Like this.” He took Jensen’s hand and extended his index finger. “Ah-one, ah-two, ah-three.” He ticked off the numbers on pudgy little digits, Heather regarding them both fondly.

Decades later, Jensen still had to suppress a nostalgic smirk every time he met with his accountant, Vincent. No matter how hard he tried, he always pictured the mousy man sitting in his office surrounded by stacks of coins like Scrooge McDuck and counting them out one-by-one…ah-one, ah-two, ah-three.

Jensen was the first in the family and the Family to know that Heather and James were going to have a baby. Heather was reading him The Tale of Peter Rabbit as he sat snuggled up against her side enraptured by the story of mischievous Peter and his three sisters. At a page turn, he looked up at her and took the finger he’d been sucking on out of his mouth.

“What’s it like?”

Heather smoothed down the page and gazed down at him with loving curiosity. “What’s what like, Sweetie?”

He jabbed a slightly damp finger at the drawing with Peter, Flopsy, Mopsy and Cottontail. “Having a brother or sister?”

She gently took his finger between hers and dried the spit-wet digit then pressed a kiss to the pad. “It’s like never being alone.”

Jensen stared longingly at the picture. He’d asked for a baby brother for his last birthday and his mother had laughed – not a pretty tinkling laugh like Heather’s, but a harsh, mean laugh like the villains in Disney movies – telling him quite plainly that there wouldn’t be any baby brothers…or baby sisters for that matter. His little heart sunk at the thought of being alone.

Heather picked up on his change in mood and hugged him tightly to her side. “Hey,” she whispered into his hair, “Will you help me with something?”

Jensen dragged his eyes from the pastel illustration, the lower lids heavy with moisture, and nodded at her sadly. Maybe they were going to bake cookies. Jensen always liked helping Heather bake cookies.

“James and I are going to have a baby.” Her hand fluttered to her midsection. “And I’m going to need your help. See, babies are small and need a lot of love. They need people to look out for them and protect them, make sure that nothing bad happens to them or hurts them. Do you think you can be my big boy and help me with that?”

Smile turning tentatively hopeful, Jensen’s heart grew lighter as he sat up on his knees. “Like a big brother?”

Dropping a kiss to his forehead, Heather smiled. “Exactly. Just like a big brother.” She knew that her child and Jensen would grow up close, could feel it in her bones that they’d always be in each other’s lives.

Jensen flung his arms around Heather’s neck and hugged her. “Yes!” He exclaimed a little too loudly to be so close to her ear. “Imma be the best big brother and me and baby will never be alone.”

“That’s right, dear. Neither of you will ever be alone.”

 

Seven months later Jensen was called into the sitting room by his mother. He’d been playing in his room most of the morning, running his Matchbox cars along the chair rail and door moldings in an attempt to stave off his mounting boredom. It had been a week since the last time he’d seen Heather and he felt a little smaller every day without her warm smiles and gentle touches. Yvonne checked on him sporadically during the day, but was always on her way somewhere so she couldn’t stay and read or play or talk with him.

He timidly stepped into the overly decorated room, all shyness dissolving the moment his eyes landed on Heather sitting on the small loveseat. He ran across the room, feet skidding to a halt at the sight of a lumpy, blue, mounded blanket in her lap. Heather smiled that smile she saved for Jensen and James and motioned him closer.

“Jensen, there’s someone I’d like you to meet.” She shifted the blanket at one end and Jensen gasped at the set of clear blue eyes that stared up at him. “This is Jared.”

Mesmerized, Jensen’s finger drifted up. He wanted to touch but he wasn’t sure if he was allowed. “Hey, Jared.” Awe quieted his words, made them come out reverent. “I’m Jensen.”

Jared wiggled in Heather’s arms, the swaddling loosening and a chubby arm coming free. Warmth surrounded Jensen’s finger and he looked down to see tiny fingers wrapped around his. His eyes widened, afraid that he’d done something wrong, and shot up to Heather’s face.

She laughed her tinkling crystal laugh. “Jared’s saying hello back. He likes you.”

“I like him, too,” Jensen answered, staring back at Jared. Jared’s tongue poked through his pursed rosebud lips and Jensen mimicked him. “Can I keep him?”

“Jensen!”

He snapped back having completely forgotten that his mother was even in the room. He only had eyes for the little baby being held by his favorite person in the world. “S-sorry,” he stammered, tears springing to his eyes. It was an automatic reaction to his mother, the tone the only one he’d ever known from the woman.

“It’s okay, Yvonne,” Heather assured. “You can’t have him, Jensen, but when he gets older I might let you borrow him to play with.” She watched the small boy for a minute, taking in the way he was completely enamored with her newborn son. “Would you like to hold him?”

“Heather, I really don’t think that’s a good idea. Jensen might hurt him.” Yvonne had sat back and witnessed the exchange between her assistant and her son, thinking for the first time that she might have made a poor decision not being more involved in Jensen’s life. She’d never seen him look at her like he was looking at Heather.

“Jensen won’t hurt Jared.” Heather scooted over a little to make room for Jensen on the loveseat beside her. “Will you, Sweetie?”

“Never,” Jensen breathed as the weight and warmth of Jared was settled into his arms. Heather adjusted his hold, shoring it so Jared was secure, before grabbing the camera from the diaper bag at her feet. Jensen managed to pull his gaze from Jared at the prompt of “cheese” just in time to see a flash of white.

Jared fussed at the sudden light, blinking his eyes and squinting against the harshness. Jensen shushed him gently, Jared quieting at his soothing words. “It’s okay, Jared. I’ll keep you safe.”

“I know you will,” Heather murmured, running a hand over Jensen’s head as she sat back down beside her boys.

 

[ ](http://smg.photobucket.com/user/LaLaLovelace/media/ch2_zpsakl6ijkw.png.html)

 

Years passed and Heather’s bones were proven correct. The boys grew up close despite the four year age gap and Jensen “borrowed” Jared every chance he got. It was never the plan for Jared to accompany Heather to work each day, but seeing how much Jensen enjoyed having the infant there, Yvonne suggested it. Yvonne was willing to put up with another carpet crawler in her home as long as it kept her in Jensen’s good graces.

Jensen doted on Jared even when the younger boy didn’t do more than smile at him from his bassinet and when Jared was older he hero worshipped Jensen. When it was time for Jensen to attend school, Jared cried all day over the loss of his friend and Jensen barely paid attention in class, mind constantly distracted by thoughts of how Jared was doing without him. A few years later, Jensen held Jared’s hand and guided him down the impersonal halls to his classroom, soothing first day jitters with promises of new friends and Jensen waiting for him at the end of the day. Neither realized it at the time, but they were setting a precedent of Jensen walking Jared to class each day that would last until Jensen graduated nearly a decade later. It was just one of the many ways that Jensen fulfilled his promise of protecting Jared, keeping him safe.

They were your typical boys, thick as thieves and twice as sneaky. What one didn’t think of, the other did. Heather loved to sit and watch them at play, able to picture in her mind’s eye the adults they’d become. She could plainly see the utter love and devotion they had for one another and the way their personalities complemented each other – Jared’s tender heart gentling the temper Jensen inherited from his father and Jensen’s natural adventurousness coaxing Jared from the timid nature he’d gotten from her. If she ever doubted the existence of soul mates, these two were proof positive that they were real. They completed each other, balanced one another, and gave her hope that her boys would escape the harsh reality and bitter violence of the world they were born into.

Unfortunately, Heather wasn’t the only one watching the boys, witnessing their interactions and imagining their future, but instead of feeling hope at the idea of Jensen and Jared having lives outside of the Family, this person only felt fear.

 

*****

 

Jensen leaned against the door jamb to the back study and grinned at the sight of Jared bent over a thick Algebra book, working a line of problems. This room had been designed for them to use. It served a dual purpose of giving them a space to study or play video games while confining them to a single part of the house, away from the business dealings conducted at the front of the mansion.

“Hey, Jay,” he called, dangling a key chain from his index finger. “Wanna go for a ride?”

“Go for a what?” Jared looked up, brow creased in confusion. Seeing the car keys in Jensen’s hand, his mouth fell open and his eyes widened comically. “No way!”

“Yes way!” Jensen answered. “So, you coming or what?” He jiggled the keys. He’d turned sixteen the week prior, but his father felt Jensen driving himself posed too much of security risk. The younger Ackles appealed to his mother, who for some reason always loved it when Jensen turned to her, and she’d used her own brand of persuasion to help Andrew see Jensen’s point. Given his father’s status and his mother’s need to keep up appearances, he’d expected a sleek, foreign-made car, but apparently when Heather heard of Andrew’s acquiescence she reasoned with him that their enemies would expect Jensen to drive something flashy and imported. She suggested that something more blue-collar might be less conspicuous. Andrew took Heather’s words to heart, there was no doubt in anyone’s mind that Jared would occupy the passenger’s seat more often than not, so Heather did have a vested interest in the subject, and now Jensen was the proud owner of a shiny black Chevy Silverado.

“Heck, yeah!” Jared jumped up, tipping his chair backwards and knocking his knee on the underside of the desk in his haste. “Ow!” His face scrunched up and he rubbed when there would undoubtedly be a bruise tomorrow.

Jensen chuckled, shaking his head and rolling his eyes. Jared had shot up over the summer, his arms and legs lengthening disproportionately to the rest of his body and making him clumsy and accident-prone. “Spaz,” Jensen teased, watching Jared struggle to slot his arm in the sleeves of his coat.

Adjusting the collar and making two failed attempts to grab his scarf from the bookshelf, Jared finally snagged the wool tartan. “You love me,” he quipped wrapping the softened plaid around his neck.

“Yeah, I do,” Jensen sighed without thought, voice soft and resigned rather than dripping with sarcasm like it normally would. He froze, stunned. It was a familiar banter back and forth, one they’d done hundreds of times since Jared learned to talk and Jensen taught him to be a smart ass, but this time it was different. As Jensen said his expected line, it dawned on him that he’d never said truer words. He loved Jared. Not as a brother, not as a friend, but as something more.

Jared, oblivious to Jensen’s mood change, snatched the keys from Jensen’s finger with a deftness that one wouldn’t have expected given his fumbling of the past few minutes and darted out the door with a laugh. Jensen stood rooted to the spot – he was having an epiphany here. Shouldn’t there be a light bulb over his head or a choir of angels singing when these things happened?

What was he supposed to do? Even if Jared somehow felt the same way, he was twelve years-old for Christ’s sake. Jensen bit the side of his mouth, his heart beating wildly in his chest.

“Jen? You coming or what?” Jared yelled down the hallway, tossing Jensen’s own words back at him.

Jensen swallowed, taking a deep breath. He would do what he had to, push these feelings deep and never let Jared know. He promised to protect Jared, even if it was from his own feelings. If someday, by some miracle, Jared gave him any indication then he would act on it, until that happened, he would be Jared’s friend, his brother…nothing more.

“Coming!”

 

*****

 

It wasn’t long after Jensen had his revelation that his and Jared lives changed forever. They were in the back study, Jared kicking his ass at Super Mario Kart as usual.

“Come on!” Jensen growled at Luigi as Jared’s Mario slipped past him to take the lead.

Jared’s crow of victory was cut off abruptly when Jensen’s father came in. It was such a rare occurrence for Andrew to visit them during the day that Jensen knew something was seriously wrong, but his father’s pale, drawn face cinched it. Jensen slowly put his controller down on the table and sat back, Jared pausing the game and mirroring him. He could feel Jared trembling beside him – the younger boy also sensing the odd heaviness in the air – and he pressed his shoulder to his friend’s in comfort.

Andrew took a seat in the squashy arm chair and faced the two boys, elbows on this thighs and hands clasped together between his spread knees. “Boys…” He licked his lips and seemed to be looking for the right words.

Jensen’s sense of foreboding doubled. His father was never uncertain, never had to search for the correct thing to say. He was a smooth talker, words falling from his lips like water from a faucet. “What is it, Dad?”

“There was an accident,” Andrew started, tenting his fingers.

Jensen’s heart faltered. _Who was it? Who’d been hurt? Mom? Was it Mom? When was the last time Jensen had seen her? Yesterday? The day before?_ Jensen could barely get air past the lump in his throat. Yvonne would never win Mother of the Year – hell, she wouldn’t even be in the running – but she was still his mother.

“I…” Andrew stared at his hands. “I’m so sorry.” His sad gaze flickered up to them, lasting a fraction of a second longer on Jared before returning to his hands.

Jensen was a bright boy, ask anyone who knew him, and sudden understanding dawned on him. The lump in his throat grew, robbing him of breath completely. Yvonne was fine, probably in the house somewhere preoccupied with something that wasn’t Jensen. No, this was worse. Jensen’s chest felt hollow, his beating heart replaced with a yawning ache that felt all consuming.

Unfortunately, Jensen wasn’t the only bright boy in the room. The Nintendo controller fell from shock-numb hands and landed with a muted thud on the lush carpeting, the game unpausing with the impact. On the screen, Mario veered to the right and tumbled to his death over the side of the Rainbow Road.

“No!” The gasp was low and Jensen’s eyes slowly slid shut at the wretched, pained sound coming from someone he loved so much, that ache settling into the marrow of his bones. Licking his lips, he opened them again knowing that the worst was yet to come.

“Jared, I’m so sorry.” Andrew moved to the coffee table, picking up Jensen’s Biology book and setting in his lap. Leaning his elbows against the hardback cover, the tips of his left hand fingers rested on the young boy’s knee. Jared tensed at the touch, but didn’t jerk away. “We’re pretty sure Vandermeer was behind it. I’m not sure why he chose to target them,” fine tremors vibrated against Jensen’s shoulder, “but I promise we’ll make this right.” He pulled his hand back, lifting it to rub at his chin. “Do you…do you have any other family? Someone we should contact?”

Jensen felt a flash of bright hot anger shoot through him as he glared incredulously at his father. Everyone knew Heather and James were only children and that both sets of Jared’s grandparents were long since dead. How could his Dad not? James had worked for the man for almost 17 years. The shivers along his shoulder grew worse, shaking Jensen as much as they shook Jared.

Jared ducked his head, eyes trained on the thinning knees of his worn jeans, and slowly, dully shook his head. His normally tan skin was distressingly white and his eyes were glassy with unshed tears. His chest rose and fell in rapid, shallow breaths that passed noiselessly through his parted mouth and his face twitched as he tried to master his emotions.

Jensen wanted to grab him, wrap him up and never let go. He snaked his arm around bony shoulders and tugged Jared into his side. He laid his other hand over Jared’s where the other boy was knotting his fingers together until the knuckles blanched. The digits were cold.

“Don’t worry, Jared.” Jensen’s gaze snapped up at the tone in his father’s voice. If he didn’t know better, if the circumstances were different, he’d have sworn it bordered on satisfied. He thought he caught a flash of something in the man’s eyes, but it was gone before he could get a better look. “We’ll take care of it. You’re family, Jared,” Andrew reached out again and squeezed Jared’s knee, a paternal smile forced on his face, “and we take care of our family.”

Jared didn’t lift his head, didn’t indicate he’d heard Andrew at all, just continued to stare at his knees. Jensen hugged him tighter, Jared’s head shifting to the side to lean against Jensen’s shoulder.

“All right, then.” Andrew slapped his hands down over the flower pictured on cover of Jensen’s text book then moved it back to the table. Rubbing his hands together, he stood up and looked down at the two boys. Nodding, he walked out of the room.

Jared’s teeth were chattering he was shivering so badly, his whole frame vibrating. Jensen tugged and pulled until Jared was sitting across his lap and wrapped him in his arms like he’d been wanting to. Shaggy hair tickled the tender skin of Jensen’s neck as Jared tucked his head against him. Long fingers fisted into Jensen’s sweater and the warm breaths ghosting just above the collarbone turned increasingly damp. Jensen squeezed him to his chest as the first of the sobs broke free. He dropped kisses to silken hair and let the scent of coconut shampoo soothe his own mourning heart. Heather had been more mother to him than Yvonne ever dreamed of being and Jensen felt the loss deeply.

Jared curled into him, bowed under the weight of his grief, and Jensen blinked his budding tears away. Heather may be gone, but Jensen would keep his promise to her. Clutching the weeping boy to his chest, he reaffirmed his vow to keep Jared safe and protect him.

When Jared had cried himself out for the time being, eyes red and dry and sniffles dying out slowly, Jensen helped him to his feet and guided him upstairs to his bedroom. Jared went pliantly, walking as if in a trance. In the room, Jensen set him on the edge of the bed and knelt down to remove his shoes. He quickly stripped Jared down to his boxes then dug through his drawer until he found the softest shirt he owned. Jared lifted his arms obediently, but the movements were mechanical. The shirt was a little big on Jensen’s stockier frame and practically swallowed the slighter boy. Jensen tucked Jared under his thick comforter, pulling it up high on Jared’s chest like he knew his friend liked.

He dropped his clothes and climbed into bed. He scooted closer and wrapped his arm around Jared’s waist, pulling his cold and still shivering body into his warmth. Jensen felt Jared’s fingers twitch against his forearm then slowly they trailed down to interlock with Jensen’s own. It was quiet like the night was mourning with them and Jensen pressed his cheek to Jared’s shoulder blade.

“They’re gone.” It was the first thing he’d said since his denying exhale and, in the silence, his whisper was as loud and final as a passing bell.

Jensen turned his face and pressed his forehead to the nape of Jared’s neck. “I know.”

Jared shuddered. “I’m all alone.”

Jensen hugged him tighter. “As long as you have me, you’ll never be alone.”

 

*****

 

Less than a week later, Jensen and Jared donned their best suits and somber ties and stood side-by-side as Heather and James Padalecki were laid to rest. Jared didn’t cry, told Jensen he wouldn’t because his mother hated to see him cry, but clung to Jensen’s hand like a lifeline. They stayed at the graveside as the other funeral-goers offered their condolences and drifted off. When they were alone, Jared moved between the two open graves and crouched down, cupping a handful of dirt each hand. He dropped one over his mother’s casket and the other over his father’s. “I love you,” Jared murmured, staring down at the white and gunmetal grey coffins.

He stood up, brushing away the dirt clinging to his sweaty palms, and moved back to Jensen’s side. “I’m ready. Let’s go home.”

Jensen couldn’t hold back his tears in the face of Jared pain. They slid slowly down the contours of his cheeks and fell freely on the manicured lawn. He put his arm around Jared’s shoulders and they started back toward the waiting limousine. Andrew made arrangements for Jared’s things to be moved to the house the day after the accident, Heather and James’ going to storage until Jared was up to sorting through them.

Jensen held the door open for him and shuffled in beside him. Jared leaned against his side, salt water soaking into black wool.


	3. Chapter 3

Jensen stepped out of the car and paused, letting the late summer sun warm his face. The car door closed and a taller, broader shadow engulfed Jensen’s silhouette on the pavement in front of him as the smell of salt-tinged coconut drifted past him on the light ocean breeze. He looked over his shoulder and let his eyes move up, a smile spreading across his face.

Jared had filled out nicely over the last seven years. Surpassing Jensen’s height by the age of 16, he now towered over his oldest friend by a good four inches. Basketball and soccer in high school, coupled with the sports necessary weight training, added muscled layers to his lanky form. His broad shoulders tampered to a slim waist and ended in long, strong legs. Yes, Jared had turned into quite the specimen and that posed a problem for Jensen.

In the time directly following Heather and James’ deaths, Jensen thought his unrequited feelings towards his best friend had lessened and become ignorable. He was able to hold his friend, lift the sheet and let Jared curl up in his bed when he felt too little in an overwhelming world, and offer comfort without feeling the need, the _want_ , he had before. The truth only needed time though.

Apparently, his libido had merely been suppressed during the grieving period – his whole being focused on support rather than seduction – but once Jared seemed to be coming to terms with his loss, it was unleashed. It returned with a vengeance, intensity stoked by the recent increase in physical contact. Jensen now not only wanted Jared for the person he was, but he also craved the feel of him in his arms, against his chest. The mere memory of those consoling touches made him long to know Jared in every way possible – inside and out, from the depths of his soul to the softness of his lips. He wanted to feel Jared’s hair tickling his neck, his cold toes between the warmth of his calves and every place in between. He pushed it into the back corners of his mind, never let it see the light of day, only allowing it out in the deepest dark of night. Jared’s age hadn’t changed, he was still too young. There was also the issue that Jared hadn’t shown any indication that he was into boys, something that didn’t change over the intervening years. So Jensen locked that part of himself down and contented his heart with being Jared’s best friend.

Haloed in the bright sunshine, Jared returned Jensen’s smile, dimples out in full force. Jensen paused for a moment, drinking in the sight. Just because he’d given up on ever being with Jared the way he wanted, it didn’t mean that Jensen couldn’t appreciate the view.

“Watch out!”

There was a high-pitched whistle and then Jensen’s breath left him in a gush as something pushed him to the ground. A second whistle made his ears ring and a heavy weight fell on him, pinning him down.

The air reverberated with the sound of pops – sporadic, erratic – that ended with the screech of tires and smell of hot rubber. Jensen closed his eyes and counted to thirty once the noise stopped, just like Jared’d taught him.

_Gotta’ make sure they really left, Jen. It could be a trap and I might not be there to protect you._

_You’ll always be there to protect me, Jay._

When he reached thirty without any further gunfire, he levered up to heft the mass off his back. The weight groaned and shock caused his arms to falter, sending him back into the hard pavement. The weight groaned again and Jensen did a desperate wriggle to extricate himself from beneath it. He knew that groan.

“Jared!”

“Jensen. Jensen! Wait. Stop a minute.” Chris was there, all calm tone and sure movements, but Jensen was too far gone in his worry to hear him.

“Get me up!” He screamed, asphalt bloodying his fingertips as they scrambled over the rough surface seeking purchase. “Jared!” he yelled again, trying to turn his head far enough. He’d called for Jared twice now and his friend hadn’t answered. A cold dread filled his heart. Jared _always_ answered when Jensen called.

“Jensen.” Chris crouched so he was more on Jensen’s level and placed a hand on the back of his neck. “Be still. We’ll get him off of you, but right now you’re hurting him.”

Chris had found the magic words, Jensen quitting his struggles at the thought of causing Jared pain. Jared’s weight was removed and Jensen shot to his knees, crawling towards where Jared had been laid out beside the car. Expensive material and skin was sacrificed without thought or care in Jensen’s need to get to his friend. Stephen and Aldis were hunched over Jared’s form, blocking Jensen from getting to his destination. He pulled and tugged at their arms, breath speeding up at the sight of the reddened hands that gently tried to push him back.

He was lifted from the ground and strong arms encircled his chest. “Jensen, stop. Let them look so we can move. We need to get off the street and get him to Harvey.”

Jensen could already hear the sirens, in the distance but approaching fast. If they were ten blocks to the south or five to the west, nobody would have given the gunshots a passing thought, but they weren’t. They were here, behind a building that fronted to Main Street and was leased by lawyers, financial planners and accountants. People who turned to the police in circumstances like these instead of the safer option of turning a blind eye.

He sagged against the older man’s chest in defeat. Chris was right. Jared moaned when Stephen and Aldis picked him, oh-so-carefully, up and situated him in the back of the limousine.

Jensen fought to get free, but Chris held him fast. “He’s making noise, Jensen. If he’s making noise, he’s breathing.”

That logic only pacified Jensen long enough for the two men to get Jared settled. Jensen scrambled into the car, pushing and shoving until he could get to his friend. He stopped cold, chest seizing as he forgot for a moment how to breathe. Jared was unconscious, long form taking up the entirety of the back seat. They’d situated him on his side and Stephen held his hands over openly bleeding wounds on his chest and back while Aldis tore Jared’s ruined coat jacket into strips.

“Matt! Let’s move!” Chris roared, pushing Jensen further into the limo so he could climb in. “Jensen, sit down.”

“Hurry up, Aldis,” Stephen growled, pressing harder on Jared.

Jared whined at the added pressure and that plaintive sound spurred Jensen into action. He crawled around Stephen, who was trying to staunch the blood loss with the scraps of jacket that Aldis handed him, and maneuvered Jared’s head into his lap. “Doing good, Jay. Just hang on. We’ll get you to Harvey and he’ll fix you good as new,” Jensen cooed, fingers raking through Jared’s hair and feathering it away from his face.

He tried to focus on Jared’s face and not the rapidly soaking makeshift bandages, but the pasty complexion was nearly as distressing as the crimson saturating the cloths. Jared’s normally sun-kissed skin was winter pale, dark smudges underlining his eyes. Biting his lip, Jensen looked up at Stephen and the man’s grim, serious expression confirmed his fears. His eyes sought out Chris, watching his face as he peered around Aldis to assess the situation.

“Matt! Step on it,” Chris bellowed and the car lurched forward, rocking Jensen into the seat back.

Stephen haphazardly secured the bandages and sat back on his haunches. “That’s as good as it’s gonna get until Harvey can sort him out.” He wiped his hands on his slacks and slid into the rear-facing seat across from them. “If it’s any consolation,” he glanced at Jensen, “the bleeding’s stopped.”

“Thank God, for small favors,” Aldis breathed, snaking his arm under Jared’s middle to secure the seatbelt around the man’s waist so he wouldn’t be thrown to the floor due to Matt’s impressive high-speed navigation of the downtown traffic. He moved into the seat beside Stephen allowing Chris to take his place on the floor in front of Jensen and Jared.

“God had nothing to do with this.” Jensen’s voice was low and menacing, his face hard and set. He continued running his fingers through Jared’s hair. “I want to know who was behind this, Chris.” He looked up at the stocky bodyguard. “This will not stand.”

“It won’t, Jensen,” Chris assured, taking Jared’s wrist to check his pulse. Jaw ticking, he gently laid the arm back down. Looking out the window, he squinted at the passing buildings and murmured, “Still ten minutes out.”

“Ch-s?”

Everyone’s attention snapped to clouded hazel eyes. Jared seemed to be having trouble focusing, pupils contracting and expanding in an effort to make Chris’ image clearer.

“Hey, Jare,” Chris brought his face closer to make it easier for Jared to see him. He shook his head in mock seriousness. “Laying down on the job, man. You know, just cuz you’ve got an in with the boss, doesn’t mean you can slack.”

“Jen?” Jared’s eyes roved over his darkening field of vision and when he couldn't find Jensen, he tried to sit up. “Gotta save Jen.” He whimpered, but continued trying to push himself up.

Chris’ hands went to Jared’s arms and Jensen’s went to his chest, both men carefully urging him back down. “Easy, Jare. You did save Jensen. He’s safe.” He cupped Jared’s chin and tilted his head back so he could see a clearly scared shitless Jensen. “See? He’s right here. Tell him, Jensen,” he coaxed, knowing that Jared wouldn’t stop until he knew for sure that Jensen was okay.

“I’m fine, Jay.” Jensen scratched his fingers along Jared’s scalp, desperately trying to keep his voice calm and reassuring. “You…you saved me. I’m fine because of you.” He swallowed. He’d promised to protect Jared, but he was the one putting him in danger.

“J’n,” Jared slurred, slumping back into the warmth of his friend, the corner of his mouth quirking up in a smile. He darted his eyes back over to Chris, strength starting to wane. “Gotta keep ‘im safe.”

“Yeah, Jare. I’ll keep baby boss here out of trouble til you’re up to it again.”

“Pr’mise,” Jared whispered. “ ‘mport’nt.” The car went over the speed bump at the entrance to Harvey’s subdivision and Jared let out a pained moan.

“Promise, Jared. Just relax. We’ll be at the doc’s here in a second.”

Jared nodded slightly, a jerky up and down motion, before his eyes slid closed.

“Jared?” Jensen’s eyes were trained on Jared’s chest, heart stopping when it staggered up, fell and didn’t rise again. “Jared? Jared!” Jared chest made a shaky movement on a noisy inhale and Jensen felt faint with relief.

 

[ ](http://smg.photobucket.com/user/LaLaLovelace/media/ch3_zps2xycom1s.png.html)

 

The car skidded to a halt in the driveway of a quaint two-story Cape Cod house, front walk planters filled to bursting with annuals, their vibrant colors striking against the red brick exterior. Aldis was out of the car before Matt had brought it to a proper stop and Stephen was tenderly taking hold of Jared’s upper body.

Jensen’s lap felt cold, the absence of Jared’s body heat, the proof of his vitality, leaving him bereft. Refusing to let that sense of loss take hold, he quickly followed the others into the house.

Jensen had spent the past five years being groomed to one day take over the Family and during that time his father had imparted on him a few fundamental rules. One, always be the smartest guy in the room. Research every business dealing, know the attendees of every meeting and keep an ace up your sleeve, just in case. Two, when dealing with people, always know their greatest weakness. A man will die for what is most important to him and sometimes people need additional persuasion to do what you asked. Three, always have a doctor and a lawyer at your disposal. You keep them happy enough to keep them from asking questions and frightened enough to keep them from turning you in. Jensen wasn’t sure if Dr. Milton Harvey was happy, but he was certain the man was frightened. He was efficient, clearly a top in his profession, but it was easy to see that his clients and their…accessories made him nervous.

“Put him in the back room.” Dr. Harvey waved his hand toward an open door at the end of the hall, stepping aside to let Stephen and Aldis pass. He turned weary brown eyes, edged in worry lines, to Chris. “Matt said on the phone that he’d been shot.”

“Yeah.” Chris ran a hand through his hair. “Once in the back, upper left side by his shoulder blade, and once in the chest just below his right collarbone.”

Harvey scratched his chin, fingers rasping through his short-cropped sandy beard. “I’ll take a look and…”

“Doc!” Aldis burst out of the back room, eyes wild with panic. “He’s quit breathing!”

Without another word, the doctor spun on his heel and sprinted down the hallway. Jensen was barely a step behind him when Chris stopped him was a staying hand. “You’ll only be in the way.”

“But…” Jensen was practically vibrating, his eyes fixed on the white six-panel door that kept him out. There was a cacophony of sounds rolling through his mind – hurried voices and frantic shuffling from the back room serving as a background to the loop of _he’s quit breathing_.

“Jensen, listen to me.” Chris shook him. “Stephen and Aldis are trained in emergency medicine and Harvey is the best. The Boss doesn’t employ anything less.” Grasping Jensen by the shoulders, he steered him over to the couch. “Here, sit.” He gently pushed Jensen down on the plaid cushion, making sure the door was still visible. “I need to make a few calls, check in and let everyone know what happened.” Giving the pale man an once-over, he crouched down. “Are you going to be okay for a few minutes?”

Jensen nodded or he thought he did, but whatever response he gave must have been enough. Chris stood up and moved out of his peripheral sight. Jensen’s fingernails dug into the meat of his thighs, the pain a welcome penance. He should be in there not Jared. Jared had received scholarships, some to prestigious universities, and, as much as it would have pained Jensen to be separated, he begged Jared to accept one of them. He wanted Jared to get out, get away and make something of himself, but Jared never even considered the thick folders. He’d only sent in the applications to appease Jensen. No, Jared already knew what he was going to do, had since the beginning of his senior year when Andrew made him a job offer. Jared was too loyal, loyal to Jensen and the family that had taken him in after his parents’ death, to turn it down. And where had that loyalty gotten him?

Chris sat down beside him, pocketing his cell phone. “Your father would like you to call him.”

Jensen nodded, but didn’t move. “Any idea who was behind it?”

“Not sure,” Chris slumped back into the plush couch. “There haven’t been any recent threats and nobody is taking immediate credit.”

“Who knew where I was going to be?” Jensen rubbed his hands up and down his thighs, wicking the anxious sweat from his palms.

“Us, your dad, Vincent.” Chris ticked off the names on his fingers. “Something’s not adding up though.”

“What’s not?” Jensen pulled his eyes from the door to look at his bodyguard and friend.

“Jen, I saw the shooter. I noticed him when I got out of the car, but he was just some guy waiting at the bus stop across the street.” Chris licked his lips, eyes drifting to the framed print over the bookcase. “He had plenty of time to take a shot at you when you first got out of the car, but he didn’t.”

“You think he waited on purpose? What for?” Jensen quickly flicked his eyes back to the door.

“He wasn’t even aiming at you until Jared jumped in front of you.” Chris trailed his eyes over the depiction of a flock of geese flying low over a reed lined inlet, giving Jensen a moment to process what he’d said.

“You think…” he trailed off. “Why would…”

“I honestly don’t know,” Chris answered the unfinished question. “I thought I recognized the guy driving the car. I’m pretty sure it was Winston Holmes. I’ve got Richard checking into his whereabouts.”

Rule number four, always have the boys in blue on your side. You never knew when you’ll need information or a blind eye.

Jensen nodded. “Keep me apprised.” He folded his hands in his lap. “Before my dad,” he added.

They sat in silence, the shadows lengthening and then disappearing as the sun traveled across the sky and set. The antique mantle clock had just chimed seven o’clock when the door at the end of the hall opened and Dr. Harvey stepped out, wiping his hands on a white hand towel. Jensen was on his feet, meeting the man halfway down the hall.

“Is he okay?”

Dr. Harvey sighed and tossed the towel across his shoulder. “He’s stable. It was touch and go there for a while, but he’s one lucky fellow. The bullets missed every vital organ and artery. With that being said, he still lost quite a bit of blood. I’ve got him on a fluid bolus and I’ve already called your dad’s contact at the blood bank. It should be here soon. I should know something more concrete after the transfusion.”

Jensen sagged against the wall. Next to him, Chris released some of his pent-up anxiety on a long exhale.

“He woke up briefly and asked for you.” Dr. Harvey took off his glasses and cleaned the right lens with the tail of his shirt.

At that, Jensen jerked away from his support. “Can I see him?”

Slipping his glasses back on, the doctor considered Jensen for a moment. “Yeah, go ahead. I’ll have one of your well-muscled companions bring in a more comfortable chair.”

Dr. Harvey and Chris stood in the hall and watched Jensen’s retreating back. The physician cleared his throat. “Jared seemed extremely distraught when he woke up and Jensen wasn’t there.”

“I’m sure he was.” Chris glanced at him out of the corner of his eye. Harvey was fishing, but Chris wasn’t sure what he wanted to catch.

“Think they’ll figure it out?”

Jensen had left the door open and through it they could see him sitting on the edge of Jared’s bed, taking the unconscious man’s hand in his own. Chris watched Harvey’s reaction and relaxed when a fond smile spread across his weary face.

“They’re smart boys. I think they’ll manage.”

 

*****

 

Jensen shifted in the chair that Dr. Harvey had Stephen and Aldis bring in from the living room. Outside the window, birds were chirping at the breaking of a new morning and squirrels were jumping from tree branch to tree branch. He rubbed his thumb over the back of Jared’s hand, happy to see that the last of the transfusion had brought some of the color back to his skin.

“Is he sick?”

Jensen twisted in his chair, grimacing at the twinge it caused in his back, to see a blonde-haired, blue-eyed girl standing just inside the door. “Y-yeah. He is,” Jensen answered quietly, looking up to see if their voices had woken Jared.

She padded to the end of the bed, dragging a stuffed bunny behind her by its ears. “Did daddy make him better?”

“Sure did.” Jensen smiled, curling his fingers around Jared’s wrist and mentally thanking the good doctor again for the strong pulse he could feel thrumming there. “Who’ve you got there?” he asked, jerking his chin in the direction of the tag-a-long rabbit.

“Cottontail.” She pulled the plush animal into her arms and hugged it around the neck.

“My favorite story growing up had a Cottontail in it. His mother used to read it to us when we were little.” Jensen could still remember the day Heather told her she was pregnant with Jared.

“Peter?”

Jensen shook himself out of the memory. “That’s right.”

There was a blur of pigtails as the little girl ran from the room. Before Jensen could wonder what he’d done to cause her to flee, she was back with a familiar looking hardcover book. She handed it to him and, without showing the slightest bit of hesitation, climbed in his lap, tucking her stuffed rabbit between them so it had a good view of the pictures. “Daddy reads it to me when I’m sick to make me feel better. You should read it to him.” She settled against Jensen’s chest, eyes tired and body slouching like the trip to her room had worn her out.

Jensen opened the cover and ran his fingers over the title page. “I think he’d like that.” He turned the page and began, “Once upon a time there were four little rabbits…”

 

****

 

Jensen closed the book and looked down at the little girl in his lap. She’d fallen asleep before Peter returned home and had slept on through the end of the story. He adjusted her small weight, catching Cottontail the Stuffed Bunny before he could fall to the floor. He rocked her gently and watched Jared’s lax face.

“Anna? Oh, God. I’m so sorry, Mr. Ackles.”

Jensen craned his head and found Dr. Harvey looking shocked. “Shhhh. She’s asleep. It’s okay. She found her way in here earlier and brought a book for us to read to Jared.” He motioned to the closed book on his thigh.

“It’s her ‘feel better’ book.” His expression was sad, a soul deep worry lining his face. “Here let me get her.” He crossed to Jensen and lifted her with practiced ease.

“She’s the reason you agreed to work for my dad, isn’t she?” Jensen reached up and tucked the rabbit against Anna’s chest.

Harvey looked down at her, a father’s pride and a parent’s pain in his eyes. “She’s my reason for everything.”

“What’s wrong with her?” Jensen wanted to take the question back, but it was too late. He’d felt the heat of her low-grade fever against his skin, the shake of her young muscles and the exhaustion of an over-taxed body.

The doctor hesitated, searching Jensen like he had in the hallway. “She has leukemia,” he whispered finally, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “Your father pays me enough that I can devote my time to her. I never thought I would be working for…in the private sector, but I’d do anything for her.”

Jensen nodded; he understood that level of love. He took Jared’s hand and traced the blue roadmap of veins. “What did you want to do?”

“Help people.” Harvey shrugged. “Maybe a free clinic where people who couldn’t really afford to pay could come and get care. Anyway, I’m where I’m supposed to be. I guess I should get her to bed.” He moved toward the door. “Mrs. Biggs, my housekeeper, will bring you in some breakfast in a bit. Try to eat some of it. You won’t do Jared any good if you’re run down.”

“Hey, doc?”

Dr. Harvey stopped at the threshold. “Hmmm?”

“Maybe you’ll still get that clinic someday.”

“Maybe.” He nodded his good-bye to Jensen and carried Anna from the room.

“Sweet kid,” Jensen mumbled, thumb smoothing a path over the back of Jared’s hand. “You’d love her, Jay. She reminds me a little of you at that age.” He stared at Jared, waiting for any sign that his friend was about to wake. Harvey had given Jared the transfusion hours ago and the prognosis was good, but Jensen refused to believe Jared was okay until the man woke up and told him himself. Jensen’s face was a battlefield of emotions, face contorting as he tried to keep a rein on the sorrow threatening to pull him under. Vision blurry, he gave Jared a pleading look. “You gotta wake up, Jay. You can’t leave me like this. I don’t know how to live a life without you in it,” he gripped Jared’s hand, “and I don’t want to.”

He shifted forward to sit on the edge of the bed, needing to be closer. The book, momentarily forgotten, slipped from his leg and he caught it before it hit the floor. Jensen placed it on the bedside table, resting his hand over the caricature of the rabbit. “You know, I think I loved you from the moment I knew you existed. I can’t remember a time I didn’t love you some way or another.”

He cupped Jared’s hand in his and leaned over to rest his cheek against them. Jared’s fingers were still cool to the touch and he closed his eyes at the feel of them against his skin. “I just wish I’d told you how I felt.” He pressed Jared’s knuckles against his lips.

“Confessing to the unconscious guy is a little cliché, don’t you think?”

The voice was nothing more than a strained, breathy croak, but Jensen would know it anywhere. His head snapped up and he nearly cried at the sight of Jared smiling weakly at him, glassy-eyed but awake. That was until what he said registered. “Asshole!” Jensen cursed, dropping the hand between his. “I thought you were dying.”

Jared groaned when his falling arm jostled his body. “No, just feels like I am.” He shifted, trying to get maneuver his pillow and gritting his teeth against the pain that flared with the movement.

“Jesus, sit still!” Jensen quickly adjusted the pillow and helped Jared find a comfortable position. He moved back slightly so he could face Jared, their noses only a few inches apart. “And don’t say things like that,” he whispered, the thought of anything louder seeming too much in the intimate space between them. “I was scared, Jay. I thought I’d really lost you. There was so much blood and you were so pale…”

Jared lifted his hand, grimacing at the pinch of the IV catheter at his wrist, and halting Jensen’s rambling with a touch of fingers on lips. “Can’t get rid of me that easy.”

Jensen kissed the pads of Jared’s fingers and lowered his hand, unconsciously pressing the palm to his chest. He nodded, not necessarily agreeing but knowing a response was expected, and swallowed hard.

“Jensen.” Jared waited until he raised his head. “We’re not teddy bear doctors. Our lives are dangerous and you knew as well as I did that there was a possibility I might get hurt one day. I’m sorry it scared you and I wish I could tell you that it won’t happen again, but we both know that I’d be lying. I’m not going to stand by and let someone hurt you.”

“Jay,” Jensen exhaled, licking his lips and preparing his counterargument.

“There is one thing you don’t know though,” Jared continued on, heading him off. He curled his fingers in the fabric under his hand and tugged Jensen forward. Luckily shock was working for him and Jensen lurched forward at the weak pull. Their lips were so close that Jensen could feel Jared’s warm breath drying the spit on his, the delicate flesh tingling with the need to close those scant millimeters. “I love you, too.” Jared tilted his chin up bringing their mouths together.

It was everything that Jensen always wanted and nothing like he’d imagined. Jared’s mouth was soft and warm, but his taste was more intoxicating, more addicting. One hit and Jensen was a junkie in the making. He felt the slick glide of Jared’s tongue asking Jensen’s to come play and Jensen happily answered, tangling his with Jared’s and giving chase when Jared’s retreated. His hands bracketed Jared’s strong jaw, the ends of Jared’s silky hair tickling the tips of his fingers. They reluctantly separated for air and Jensen pressed his forehead to Jared. “God, Jared. You never…Not even once…How long have you…” Jensen’s mind was whirling with the recent developments, making it difficult to construct a complete thought.

“Always. Forever,” Jared answered, nuzzling their noses together.

Jensen pulled back slightly, frowning at the odd sound to Jared’s voice. It was then that he saw the way Jared’s face was tight with pain, the tears leaking from the corner of his eyes. “Jared! Why didn’t you tell me I was hurting you?” He tried to sit up, but Jared’s hand still wrapped in the front of his shirt kept him from getting far.

“It was worth it.” Jared started to lean up for another kiss, but froze when he heard a sappy sigh.

Both men turned to see a woman standing in the doorway holding a tray of food and unapologetically watching them. She was short in stature, a little too gray for middle-aged, but with an air of youthfulness that kept her from being labeled a senior citizen. Warm brown eyes were looking at them like they were the cutest thing she’d seen in a while. The “awwww” on her face couldn’t have been plainer if it were scrawled across her forehead in flashing neon.

“Carry on,” she smiled encouragingly. “Don’t mind me. I just came to bring in some breakfast, pretend I’m not here. I’ll be in and out in two shakes.” She hurried to the dresser and set the tray down then just as fast left the room.

Jensen groaned. “Was that the woman we see in the grocery store?”

“Yep.”

They weren’t in there often – only when the cook asked them to pick something up – but every time they were, this woman – Mrs. Biggs – was always there and she was always… “The one that talks about everyone and everything to the cashiers?”

“Yep.”

“We’re screwed.” Jensen shook his head, knowing that tomorrow he and Jared would be the hot topic in the Express Lane. Twenty items or less and all the gossip you can handle.

“Yep.”

“Is that all you’re going to say?” Jensen raised an eyebrow. “By tomorrow half the town will know about us.”

Jared shrugged. “Probably more like three-quarters, but yeah.” His gaze turned shrewd. “Does it bother you that people will know?”

“Not in the least,” Jensen answered without hesitation. It was true. Jensen didn’t care who knew he was gay and he certainly didn’t give a damn if people knew he was in love with Jared. It was none of their business who he was with and if they didn’t like it they could go straight to Hell.

“Good.” Jared yanked on his shirt again, their lips meeting in another heated kiss.

[ ](http://smg.photobucket.com/user/LaLaLovelace/media/ch4_zpszjw0y9tr.png.html)


	4. Chapter 4

After staying overnight under Dr. Harvey’s watchful eye, Jared was allowed to return to the mansion provided he followed the physician’s orders. Jared was so happy to leave, he’d barely listened to the laundry list of things that he was supposed to do and worrisome signs he was to keep an eye out for, but fortunately Jensen memorized every word. Jensen was diligent in Jared’s care, much to Jared’s chagrin, making sure he was comfortable and that he rested. Jensen had set up camp on the couch situated in the windowed alcove in Jared’s room so he could keep his bedridden friend company and be close if he was needed.

He was there, body nestled in the well-used leather cushions, socked feet up on the coffee table and laptop warm on his thighs, when there was a light knock on the bedroom door. Jensen looked over at Jared to make sure the sound hadn’t roused the sleeping man as the heavy wood slowly slid open. Andrew’s head peered around the edge of the door, gaze landing on Jared for a moment before finding Jensen.

Jensen pressed his index finger to his lips, silently asking his father to stay quiet, and dropped his feet to the floor. He set his laptop to the side and closed the lid, a picture showing the cross-section of a human femur disappearing with a snick. He jutted his chin in the direction of the hallway as he got up and crossed the room, fingers trailing over Jared’s blanket covered legs as he passed the bed.

Leaving the door cracked in case Jared needed him, he stepped out into the hallway. “Sir?”

Andrew raised an eyebrow at Jensen’s shoeless feet, but didn’t comment. “I wanted to check on how Jared was doing and see if Chris had any leads.”

“Not yet.” Jensen fought down the urge to wiggle his toes under his father’s scrutiny. Even at twenty-three, Jensen still felt like a child sometimes in his father’s presence. “The address Richard got us from Holmes’ PO was a bust. Chris is leaning on some of his old associates to see if he can get one of them to spill where he’s hiding.”

Andrew nodded, folding his arms over his chest. “So you’re sure this Holmes is involved?”

“Chris is and that’s good enough for me.”

“Agreed.” Andrew stepped forward and placed his hand on Jensen’s shoulder. “Jensen, I can take care of this if you want.”

“No, I want to handle it personally.” Jensen’s tone was certain and determined, retribution promised in each syllable and in the flare of bright jade. A sound came from the room behind him and those eyes immediately softened. He peeked through the door to see Jared grunting as he rolled over.

Andrew’s face morphed into a contrived look, the expression fading into one of sympathetic understanding before Jensen could turn back around. “If you’re sure,” he hedged slyly. “I know you’ve got your hands full helping Jared as he convalesces.”

“That’s exactly why I’ll take care of it.” Anger colored Jensen’s face. “Someone tried to kill me and damn near succeeded with Jared. I want to know who is behind it. I want to know who almost took my Jared from me and make sure everyone thinks twice before doing it again.”

“Okay,” Andrew nodded, barely keeping the self-satisfaction in check. “Let me know if you need anything.” Heavy footsteps sounded off the paneled walls and he turned to see Chris coming toward them. “I’ll stop by later when Jared is awake.”

Jensen nodded and watched his father head back to the main part of the house, passing Chris with a friendly greeting. Stretching the tight muscles in his neck, Jensen frowned as Chris looked back over his shoulder at the retreating Ackles’ patriarch with a confused expression.

“Something wrong?” Jensen searched his friend’s face when he finally reached him.

Chris shook his head irritably trying to clear the annoying thoughts circulating his mind. The look on Andrew Ackles face when he’d walked by had been strange, a smug smile flirting across his lips that seemed so out of place with the recent events in the house. “No,” he answered, distractedly. “Your Dad come by to check on Jared?” Maybe they were talking about how Jared protected Jensen. That would be something to make the old man proud.

“Yeah.” Jensen rubbed a hand over his weary face. He’d slept very little since Jared was shot, afraid to go to sleep and wake up to find that he’d been dreaming and Jared was really dead. “That and he wanted to see if we’d found anything out about the shooting. He’s offered to help if we need him, but I told him I wanted to deal with this on my own.”

“Huh.” The ghost of that arrogant smile on Andrew Ackles’ face niggled at Chris, made him feel like he was missing something important.

“So did you?”

“Did I what?” Chris stared at him for a minute, completely confused.

“Find out anything,” Jensen clarified, giving Chris a worried look.

“Yeah, apparently you and Jared are the cutest couple in the Upper-East Side. That is, according to my sources in the Express Lane down at Farber’s Market. The word on the street is that several girls are extremely distraught at the idea of you two off the market.” Chris smiled sweetly.

“That freaking gossipmonger.” Jensen leaned back against the wall, banging his head on it with a resounding thud. He knew this would happen. That nosy busybody Mrs. Biggs couldn’t keep something to herself if her life depended on it. He’d been honest with Jared, he really didn’t care if people knew. It was more that he wanted them to have time to figure out this new aspect of their relationship, feel it out and set the foundation, before the entire world knew.

“Mmhmm,” Chris hummed. “Racks full of celebrity intrigue and all anyone could talk about was how great the two of you must look together. I had to run a gauntlet of questions yesterday just to buy a carton of milk.”

“That’s disturbing. Why do people even care about us?” Jensen shook his head, short spikes scratching against the wood paneling.

“Because you’re both hot and they have nothing better to do. What’s more disturbing is I overheard two of the cashiers talking about a bet they have going about which of you tops.” Chris grinned at Jensen’s shocked face.

“Great,” Jensen grumbled, kneading the tense muscles at his nape. “You have any news not related to my sex life?”

Chris’ demeanor instantly changed, gone was the jovial smile, replaced with a serious expression. “Actually, I do. We found Holmes. He’s holed up at his cousin’s place in Marion. Stephen and I were going to head over tonight to meet with him. See if he’s been chauffeuring anyone around lately.”

“Tonight?” Jensen raised an eyebrow. The stockier man wasn’t known for his patience. He usually liked to take his meetings immediately.

Chris’ jaw ticked. “The cousin has joint custody of his daughter.”

“Ah,” Jensen nodded. “Let me guess, it’s Daddy’s weekend.”

“Bingo!” Chris pointed his finger at him. “Guy works nights at Mackey’s bar downtown. He drops the kid off at the mother’s on the way.”

Jensen thought for a minute, processing everything Chris had said. “When are you leaving?” he asked, unbuttoning the cuffs of his shirt.

Glancing down at his watch, Chris shrugged. “Couple of hours. I thought we’d leave around seven. Make sure daddy and daughter haven’t forgotten something.” He watched Jensen roll up his sleeves and push the fabric to his elbows. “Why?”

“I’m coming with you.” It wasn’t a request. It wasn’t a question. It was a certifiable statement of fact. Jensen crossed his arms over his chest in preparation of the anticipated argument.

“Then I’m coming, too.”

Jensen spun around to find Jared, face pale and pinched with pain, leaning against the door jamb.

“No, you’re not!” Jensen moved to Jared’s side and took his elbow, intending to lead him back to bed.

Jared snatched his arm away, hissing at the movement. He leveled a deadly serious look at Jensen. “Yes. I. Am.” He turned to Chris. “We’ll be ready before seven. Come and get us when you’re ready to leave.”

Eyes volleying back and forth between the two men and sensing an impending fight he didn’t need to be present for, Chris nodded and made a quick exit. He’d come back at seven and pick up whoever was going or, depending on how bad the argument was, whoever was still alive.

“You’re not going,” Jensen said emphatically, infusing as much authority as he could muster into his voice. He gently nudged Jared back into the room.

“Ooh,” Jared theatrically shook his hands, “Jensen’s using his ‘tough guy’ voice.” Letting Jensen usher him to the bed, he sat down and looked up at the older man irritably. “You know that hasn’t worked on me since I was like ten, right?”

Jensen stood in front of him and ignored the jibe. He knew Jared was itching for a fight and rightfully so, but he really didn’t want to argue. “Jared, please.”

Jared’s shoulder slumped at the pleading tone. He put his hands on Jensen’s waist and leaned his forehead against Jensen’s stomach. “Jensen, I can’t stay behind.” Shaking his head, he could feel one of the buttons on Jensen’s shirt digging into the skin, the layer of muscle underneath the cotton, the body warmed smell of expensive cologne. He fisted his hands into the side of Jensen’s shirt. “Please, don’t ask me to.”

Jensen sighed and cupped his hands on Jared’s neck, tilting his face up with his thumbs. “Jared…”

“Please, don’t,” Jared interrupted, water glistened in his long lashes and along his lids. “Jen, I _need_ to be there. I need to protect you, have your back. How would you feel if the situation was reversed? Would you stay here while I went?”

Jensen slid his hands up and bracketed Jared’s jaw, searched hazel eyes and his own feelings. He tried to put himself in Jared’s place, see the situation from the other man’s point-of-view. “I’d want to go,” he finally conceded.

“Exactly,” Jared moved a hand to Jensen’s chest and pulled the man down by his shirt front, their lips meeting.

A thrill shot through Jensen at the feel of Jared’s warm lips, just as it did every time he was reminded that this was real. He had Jared like this. He threaded his fingers in Jared’s hair and angled his head, deepening the kiss. His tongue delved in, swept around the space and engaged Jared’s in sensual slip-slide that made Jensen crave more. They’d shared a few chaste kisses since their mutual admission and Jensen was getting his first indication of just how great a kisser Jared was. He insinuated his body between Jared’s legs, the younger man spreading his thighs farther to accommodate him, and could feel the hot, hard length of him like a brand even through Jared’s sleep pants and his own chinos. Jared whimpered at the light friction and heat flashed over Jensen at the sound, bathing him in _want_ and _need_ and _mine_. He pressed forward, Jared reclining back to the bed as he advanced.

The whimper Jared let out this time didn’t inflame Jensen’s lust, but doused it in ice water. He jerked back to see Jared’s eyes still closed and lips pursed, but his features tight with pain. “Jared!” He scrambled back to the floor and gently pulled Jared back to a seated position. “I’m so sorry. I – I didn’t think.” His hands fluttered over Jared, touching softly over the dressing covering his chest.

Wincing at the tentative touch, Jared took Jensen’s hand and kissed his palm. “It’s okay, Jen.”

“No, it’s not. This is exactly what I’m talking about,” Jensen waved his hand at Jared’s chest then began pacing the area in front of the seated man. “If you can’t even lay back without hurting then how do you expect to handle this meeting tonight? You say you want to protect me. Can you even handle a gun, right now?”

Jared reached out and snatched Jensen’s wrist on his next pass, forcing him to turn and face him. “I’ll be fine, Jen.” At Jensen’s dubious look, he twisted his mouth in thought. Face clearing, he smiled. “How about a deal?”

“What kind of a deal?” Jensen was suspicious. Jared was cunning and good at getting his way, especially when it came to Jensen. Usually Jensen didn’t even realize he was being played until long after the fact.

“We go to the basement. If I can’t hack it down there, I won’t fight you about going.” Jared held up his free hand at the hopeful light in Jensen’s eyes. “But, if I can then you drop the subject and we come back up here and get ready to go.”

Jensen’s mind raced, trying to see the deal from every angle and searching for loopholes that Jared could slip through. Finding none, he nodded slowly. “Okay.”

 

[ ](http://smg.photobucket.com/user/LaLaLovelace/media/ch5_zpsazb2gijv.png.html)

 

Jared refused to let Jensen help him to the basement, walking tall even if it was a little stiff. The main house, meticulously decorated to Yvonne’s discerning taste, disappeared behind the thick wood door as they descended the simple staircase that lead beneath the house. They moved across the store room where the kitchen staff kept the extra pantry stores and the serving platters for parties to a large, metal door on the opposite wall.

“You ready?” Jensen picked up a set of earphones from the hook by the door and donned them, handing Jared the second pair.

Shaking his hair back and snugging the cushions over his ears, Jared nodded.

Jensen nodded and pushed open the heavy door, revealing a fully functional gun range complete with Plexiglas partitioned stalls and motorized retractable targets. This part of the house was Michael Ackles’ main contribution. He subscribed to the belief that an effective security team needed to constantly hone their skills. He’d told the mansion’s designer that if the police force had an in-house gun range then his men needed one, too.

Picking up a target of a human silhouette, Jared stepped up to the second stall and secured it to the clip suspended from the ceiling mounted track. He pressed a button and the paper zipped to the far end of the room, rippling as it went.

Jensen had seen Jared go through this routine hundreds of times, the two of them coming down here for years, and he scrutinized each step, looking for anything that he could use as a basis for forcing Jared’s forfeiture. Jared smoothly loaded his gun and set it on the waist high shelf at the front of the booth. He slid on his protective glasses and turned around to Jensen, flinching slightly when he rolled his shoulder to loosen it.

“You don’t have anything to prove, Jay.” Jensen looked down at the glasses in his hand, running a fingernail between the frame and the plastic lens. “It’s only been a couple of days since you were shot. You…”

Jared spun around, body positioned between Jensen and the silhouetted target. His arm came up in a fluid arc, gun materializing in his hand with magician-like deftness, and he fired four perfectly measured shots. Flicking the safety on with a swipe of his thumb, he set the gun back down followed by his glasses. He tapped the button, calling for the target, but turned before it made the journey back. Walking past Jensen, he dropped a kiss to the man’s shock slack mouth and patted his chest. “I’ll go get dressed.”

The muted sound of bare feet on the concrete floor receded as Jensen stared at the bullet riddled paper, the black drawing fatally wounded with four holes to the chest. “I guess that settles that.”

 

*****

 

The cousin’s house was a small brick home located in a middle-class neighborhood just on the outside of town. It had a well-kept, unadorned yard and a swing set just visible in the back. There was light on in the front window and the driveway was empty so Chris rolled to a stop along the curb.

Chris and Stephen snuck around the side of the house while Jensen and Jared strolled casually up the front path. At the door, they knocked politely looking for all intents and purposes like well-dressed Jehovah Witnesses bringing the good news to the household. They waited patiently taking in the exterior of the home and the surrounding houses like they had nowhere to be and all the time in the world.

“Nice neighborhood,” Jared remarked, smiling at a woman walking her dog, and Jensen hummed his agreement.

The front door clicked and they were faced with a smug looking Chris. “Fucker, tried to run out the back.”

“Who would’ve thought?” Jensen rolled his eyes and stepped into the house, Jared on his heels.

They found a place against the wall of the living room, out of the way but able to see and hear everything. Stephen put the finishing touches on the duct tape around Holmes’ wrists, securing them to the back of the kitchen chair he was seated in. Jared’s gaze took him in, cataloguing his features. The man was pushing forty, short and portly, with a round face and close-set eyes.

“So, Holmesy,” Chris walked around behind the bound man, “I hear you’re a chauffeur.” He clapped the man on the shoulder. “Tell me. Have you driven anyone interesting this week?”

“Fuck you,” Holmes spat, tugging at this bonds.

“Not my type.” Chris shot back not missing a beat. He jutted his chin at Stephen in a silent order.

Holmes’ head snapped to the right under the force of Stephen’s blow. A trickle of blood trailed from the corner of his lip down his chin.

Chris rounded the man, bending over so they were face to face. “Listen, let me make this easy on you. All we want to know is who hired you.”

“Go fuck yourself.”

“Anatomically impossible.” Another non-verbal command and red blossomed across Holmes’ cheek.

Jensen crossed his arms and leaned back against the wall as the scene was repeated over and over again until Holmes’ face was bloody and swollen, the beginnings of bruises mottling the skin. “This is getting us nowhere,” he muttered.

Jared nodded, shifting his shoulder.

Stephen moved back, pulling the silk square from his front jacket pocket and wiping his knuckles. Holmes’ water blue eyes, one completely closed and the other mostly on its way, darted from person to person landing on Jared for the first time. Split lips pulled back from crimson coated teeth and a jarring laugh filled the room.

“You want to know who hired me?” He stared directly at Jared. “Huh, Padalecki? Is that what you want?” He spat rose-colored saliva on the blue carpeting.

Jensen’s skin prickled, not liking the thug’s sudden interest in Jared. He pushed off the wall. “How do you know his name?”

Holmes ignored Jensen, focus entirely on Jared. “Is it, Padalecki? Sometimes ignorance is bliss.”

“The fuck are you talking about?” Jared stepped forward, painfully shrugging off Jensen’s restraining hand.

“Don’t listen to him, Jay. He’s trying to get to you,” Jensen warned, making another attempt to hold Jared back.

A thick tongue licked across Holmes’ lower lip, the blood there painting it red. “Yeah, _Jay_. You ain’t ready for what I’ve got to say.”

In a blink of an eye, Jared had a gun leveled at Holmes’ head. “Who hired you to kill Jensen?”

Chris moved forward, ready to step in, but Jensen held him back with a twitch of his fingers.

That jarring laugh was back, Holmes shaking his hanging head in mirth despite the pistol pointed at him. “I wasn’t hired to kill him,” he mumbled, face still downcast. His head snapped up and he pierced Jared with a cold look. “I was hired to kill _you_.”

“Fine,” Jared snarled in agitation. “Who hired you to kill me?”

The unmarred portions of Holmes’ face twisted into a cruel expression. “The same person who hired me to kill your parents.”

Jared’s gun hand drifted, the shock of the answer making his already pale face turn pasty. Jensen could see the shivers coursing through Jared’s body in the tremble of the bangs hanging over his forehead. He stepped up beside his friend and curled his hand over Jared’s holding the gun, taking it from the lax grip.

“Nice try, asshole.” Jensen tucked Jared’s gun in the back of his pants. “Vandermeer’s been dead for seven years.”

Holmes let his head fall back and huffed a laugh at the ceiling. When he dropped his face back down, it was smug. “Vandermeer had nothing to do with it. He was just a convenient patsy.”

“What?” Jared gasped. He was on the verge of hyperventilating and sweat dampened the collar of his shirt and the curls at his nape.

“Vandermeer didn’t put the hit out on your parents. You need to be looking a little closer to home,” Holmes taunted.

Jensen shot a look at Chris and Stephen, but both men seemed just as confused as he was. Someone associated with the Ackles family paid to have Heather and James Padalecki killed then tried to do the same to Jared?

“Wh-what do y-you mean?” Jared stammered, body shaking so bad it reminded Jensen of the night the Padaleckis died. “Who killed m-my parents?”

Holmes smile was macabre, his obvious enjoyment at seeing Jared’s pain was revolting.

“Who did it?!” Jared lurched forward, crying out in pain when Jensen grabbed him by the waist. He leaned forward, straining against Jensen’s hold, trying to get at the bound man.

The bastard kept quiet for a long moment, drawing out the pause dramatically. “Andrew Ackles.”


	5. Chapter 5

Shock buffeted Jared and Jensen back like a physical blow. The arm around Jared’s waist slackened, his knees buckling slightly before he could lock them.

“You’re crazy,” Jensen scoffed. He noticed Jared’s wobbly state and reached out to stabilize him. “My Dad wouldn’t do that. He loved James and Heather. They – they were family.”

“They might have been family,” Holmes’ smile widened at Jensen’s distress, “but my experience is that don’t mean nothing when it comes to the _Family_.”

“No,” Jared shook his head, pushing away Jensen’s supporting hold. “I don’t’ believe it. Andrew…he’s been like a second father to me.”

Jensen stumbled back under the force of the shove and reached out, grabbing Jared’s arm to keep his balance. Jared’s jacket slipped down over the meat of his shoulder and Jensen saw a flash of red discoloring the front of Jared’s blue shirt. “Jay, you’re bleeding!”

“What?” Jared stopped and looked down at this chest where Jensen was frantically trying to undo the line of small buttons to get at the skin underneath.

Stephen rushed forward and wrapped an arm around Jared’s waist while Chris dashed into the kitchen. “Sit him down.”

The three men awkwardly walked back toward the couch, falling into the worn cushions in an uncoordinated heap. Frustrated at his dumb fingers, Jensen yanked the shirt open, pearlescent buttons raining over the blue carpeting.

Stephen dug his hand in his pocket and produced a black handled pocket knife. With the deft flick of his thumb, the blade emerged and he sliced Jared’s shirt up the back from hem to collar. Dropping the knife on the couch, he pushed the two halves down Jared’s arms, the pieces dangling from his wrists by the buttoned cuffs.

The bandage visible beneath the white wife-beater Jensen had helped Jared into earlier was saturated, the excess blood soaking the right strap of the tank top. A similarly bloody patch of gauze landed on the coffee table, splattering the muscular man frolicking in the ocean on the cover of the Men’s Health magazine. “He’s popped his stitches,” Stephen mumbled, nodding his thanks to Chris when the man passed him a dishtowel.

Jensen peeled away the dressing on Jared’s chest, wincing at the gaping hole and loose threading. “Here too.” Chris nudged him and held out a towel. Glancing up at the older man, Jensen shook his head. “I knew this was a bad idea.”

Jared lifted his hands and stared dazedly at the tattered remains of his shirt dangling from his wrists. His gaze slowly drifted up to Jensen, “My shirt’s torn.”

Jensen’s heart trip-hammered in his chest. Jared sounded all of five-years-old, his eyes huge in his ghostly face. “I know, Jay.” He pressed harder against the towel.

Raising his hands, Jared showed them to Jensen. “I liked this shirt.”

“I know, Jay,” Jensen repeated and used his free hand to lower Jared’s. “I’ll get you a new one. Promise. Just sit still for me.”

“Chris, see if you can find a first aid kit somewhere.” Stephen pulled the towel away and frowned.

Over the sound of doors opening and drawers closing, a low whistle pierced the air. Holmes leaned back as much as his bound limbs would allow and regarded Jared with chagrin. “Damn, Petey was so close. Coupla’ inches to the left and Ackles wouldn’t have had to waste a bullet on him.”

“Jensen, is yours still bleeding?”

Jensen took a quick look. “Sluggishly.”

“Okay, good.” Stephen relaxed a little. “Mine, too. Chris, you find something?”

Arms laden, Chris walked back into the room. “I got some gauze, tape and a couple of elastic wraps. Will that work?” He dumped the supplies on the coffee table.

“Yeah, it’ll do until we can get everything re-stitched.” Stephen and Jensen set to work on bandaging the wounds again.

“It’s a shame, too,” Holmes sighed. “Petey was a good guy. It was like poetic or some shit seeing how he was the one who did your folks too.”

“Shut the fuck up!” Chris snarled.

“How’re you coming?” Stephen secured the last piece of tape and leaned forward to see how Jensen was faring.

“Done.” Jensen smoothed his fingers over the edges to make sure they were down.

“They were so easy it was almost an insult to his talents. Like fish in a barrel.”

“I told you to shut the fuck up!” Chris punched Holmes in the face, bone crunching.

“Jared, you think you can walk, buddy?” Stephen pocketed the extra gauze and tape.

When Jared didn’t answer, Jensen pried his eyes from the pristine gauze. The younger man was staring at Holmes, expression blank, and Jensen gently turned his face toward him. “Jay? You think you can walk to the car?”

Jared blinked and his eyes cleared. He jerkily nodded his head and with the help of Stephen and Jensen stood up. Jensen placed steadying hands at the small of his back and on his arm and guided him toward the door.

“Or should I say like shooting fish in a Camry. Looked pretty new. Paint was still all shiny. Nice silver color.”

Jared staggered to a halt and Jensen froze. Heather and James had just purchased a brand new Toyota Camry the week before they were killed. James was so proud, showing it off like it was a Rolls Royce.

“They were headed to dinner at the Kapok House. Exclusive place from what I hear. Gotta be a member or know one to even get a table. Wonder who could have gotten them the reservation?

Jensen swallowed. Heather and James both had thanked Andrew over and over for getting them the reservation.

“Your Pop was too cheap for the valet so he parked a few blocks away. All we had to do was sit and wait for them to come back out.”

Jared fisted a hand in the back of Jensen’s coat.

“I grabbed your mother while Petey snatched your dad and we drug them into the alley. God, she smelled so good like orange blossoms.” Holmes closed his slitted eye like he was remembering the scent. “She was feisty, too. Didn’t stop kicking and biting and hitting until the moment Petey shot your dad in the head. She went crazy after that, got in a couple of good hits, but it didn’t matter in the end. Petey put one in her heart easy as pie. Ackles was so pleased he paid us double.”

Just like in the gun range, Jared moved too quickly for Jensen to react. The hand clenched in his suit coat slid under the fabric and retrieved the gun Jensen had taken from Jared earlier. Jared whirled around, the gun coming up, and pulled the trigger twice. Holmes slumped forward, a perfectly round hole in the middle of his forehead and another dead center in his chest.

Jensen, Chris and Stephen watched as Jared lowered his arm and holstered his gun, eyes trained on the dead man tied to the chair.

“Jay?” Jensen squeezed Jared’s arm. Jared had just killed his first person and Jensen wasn’t sure what would happen when that idea sunk in. Everybody reacted differently, but for most shock was the biggest emotion.

“I – I think I’d like to leave now.” The voice was calm, but Jensen could feel the fine tremors vibrating Jared’s frame.

“Okay.” Jensen led Jared to the car, pulling him into his embrace once they were situated in the back seat.

Stephen and Chris slid into the front seat. Stephen started the engine and Chris turned to them. “You wanna go to the house or to Harveys?”

Tugging Jared closer to his side, Jensen caught Stephen’s eye in the rearview mirror. “Can you stitch him up?”

“Yes, Boss.”

“Take us to The Plaza then.”

The two men in the front seat didn’t question, just nodded their understanding and trained their eyes on the windshield. Chris quietly placed a call to Justin, the concierge at The Plaza, and requested Jensen’s normal room, one of the perks of owning the hotel. As usual, they arrived via the back entrance and made their way to the fourteenth floor suite. Jared straddled a chair in the middle of the living room and endured Stephen steady work without complaint then turned around for the process to be repeated on his chest. Chris contacted a few people, made arrangements for Holmes’ body to be removed from this cousin’s house and the mess cleaned.

Expensive whisky was poured into three tumblers, water in a fourth, and Chris passed them around before taking a seat in the armchair beside Stephen. Silence hung heavy in the room as Jared stared in his water and the others sipped at their oaky liquor.

“Do you think he was telling the truth?” Stephen finally asked.

Jensen glanced side-long at Jared on the couch next to him. “He knew a lot of details.” He still couldn’t wrap his mind around the possibility that his father had ordered the Padaleckis’ death. It was no secret that Andrew had commanded and carried out some despicable things over the years but _this_?

“Yeah, but he could have gotten them from the crime scene report.” Chris swirled the ice in his glass, but even he didn’t sound convinced.

“He knew what my mother’s perfume smelled like,” Jared whispered.

Jensen pressed his lips together. “I think it’s safe to say that Holmes was there. The question still remains of whether my father ordered the hit?”

Chris shifted uncomfortably in his chair and took a long swallow from his drink. Jared’s head snapped up and he pinned the older man with a cold gaze. “Did you know?”

“No,” Chris denied immediately. “No!” he repeated more vehemently. “Look,” he held up his hand, “I had just started when your folks were killed, but even to a newbie things didn’t seem to add up.”

“How so?” Jensen draped his arm along the back of the couch behind Jared and massaged his neck.

“Vandermeer didn’t have anything to gain by killing Jared’s parents. James was an accountant and Heather was Yvonne’s personal assistant. It wasn’t like they were particularly integral in the running of the organization. And then there was Andrew’s reaction.” Chris leaned forward and set his empty glass on the coffee table.

“What do you mean?” Jensen moved closer to Jared. “He seemed distraught when we saw him.”

Chris licked his lips and paused. “Andrew Ackles is a lot of things, Jensen, including a good actor. I was in there when he got the news. Ricky was already picking up the phone to make phone calls, but Andrew stopped him. He didn’t want us investigating it, refused to let us look into it. When Martin was shot, Andrew ordered heads to roll and Martin was just some dumb delivery guy.”

“Sounds like he was afraid of what you’d find.” Stephen rested his glass on the arm of the couch.

“Yeah.” Chris swiped a hand down his face.

Jared rubbed his thumb through the condensation on the outside of his glass. “So what do we do now?” He looked at Jensen.

“I guess we have a sit down with dad.”

 


	6. Chapter 6

__

Jensen woke slowly, reluctant to leave the relative peace of night and face the veritable shit storm the day promised. Jared was a warm and alluring presence against him, his long body draped over Jensen’s, arms and legs intertwined.

Chris and Stephen made use of the double beds in the room across the hall and nobody batted an eyelash when Jensen followed Jared into the king suite and closed the door. Growing up, it wasn’t unusual for Jared and Jensen to share a bed. In the aftermath of his parents’ death, Jared spent more nights in Jensen’s bed than his own. This time was different from all those other nights. It was the first night they’d shared a space since their relationship had progressed past platonic friendship.

He pressed a kiss to the sleeping man’s temple. Jensen could get used to Jared snugged tightly in his arms at night, half-naked and wholly warm, his heart and mind free of guilt for his body’s reaction.

Before they’d gone to bed, Jensen had plied Jared with pain killers from the kit and the medication had gone a long way on making Jared comfortable. Even with the narcotic help, Jared had slept fitfully, the opiates numbing the pain in his body, but doing little against the torment in his mind. A muffled sound had roused Jensen in the middle of the night. Goosebumps erupted on his skin, the air conditioner cooling recently heated flesh, and he rolled over seeking Jared. He heard a sound and his hand touched a shaking shoulder, realization coming on lightning quick.

Leaning up on his elbow, he placed his hand on Jared’s arm. “Hey, Jay.”

Jared stifled a sniffle and remained resolutely on his side

“Come on,” Jensen urged, tugging with butterfly force. When Jared still wouldn’t face him, he slid his hand over Jared’s heart and kissed the back of his shoulder. There was a great sob, Jared’s body shuddering under the onslaught. “It’s okay, Jay. Let it out,” Jensen rubbed soothing circles on his chest. “I’ve got you.”

“He killed my parents.” The tone was bereft, the words stilted by sniffles.

Jensen wasn’t sure who exactly Jared was referring to – Petey, Holmes, Andrew, but it didn’t matter. At a loss for words, he rested his cheek against Jared’s back and nodded.

“I killed him.” Jared’s body curled in on itself, the burden of what he’d done weighing him down.

Jensen pulled him with a little more force and Jared gave only a token resistance then rolled over to nestle into Jensen’s chest. Jensen held him, murmuring nonsense just to give Jared something to cling to, a beacon to help guide him out of the darkness.

Jared quieted in increments. “I’m not sorry,” Jared’s breath ghosted over the humid space in the crook of Jensen’s neck. He shook his head. “I’m not sorry, Jen.”

Jensen peppered kisses to Jared’s forehead, hand coming up to thread in Jared’s hair. Jensen now understood what this was really about. Jared wasn’t upset that he’d killed Holmes, he was upset over the fact that the murder _didn’t_ upset him. “You don’t have to be.”

Emotionally drained, Jared fell into an exhausted sleep. Jensen stayed awake a while longer, holding him and keeping him safe just like he’d promised Heather he would. He didn’t want to believe that his father was the cause of all this, had been the root of Jared’s pain all these years, but if he was...

Jensen finally drifted off to sleep and, thankfully, Jared didn’t wake again for the rest of the night.

He laid there for a few more minutes, loathe to wake the younger man even though he knew it was best to get this over with.

“Jay?” A sleepy moan was his only response. Smiling despite the situation, he dropped a kiss to Jared’s lips. “Jay? It’s time.”

 

*****

 

Stephen navigated the car up the winding drive to the Ackles’ mansion and into its spot in the garage. He turned it off and the four men sat in silence, the only sound the ticking of the engine as it cooled.

“You sure you don’t want us in there?” Chris stared out of the windshield at the dull, gray wall.

“No,” Jared tone was composed, the distress of the past day gone and replaced with a professionalism that surprised Chris and Stephen. “I want you to stand guard outside the door and make sure we’re not disturbed.”

Jensen nodded. “If this goes south, I need to know there is someone we can trust watching our backs.”

There was a pregnant pause. “Understood,” Chris said at the same time Stephen answered, “Yes, boss.”

“Let’s do this.”

 

*****

 

Jensen gave an obligatory knock before he and Jared entered his father’s office.

“Jensen! Jared!” Andrew rounded the end of the desk and hugged both men, either missing or not caring that they stiffened in his embrace. “I was worried when you didn’t come home last night. Franklin said you went with Chris and Stephen to meet with someone about the shooting.” He turned concerned eyes on Jared. “Do you think that was wise in your condition?”

“I was fine. Thank you.”

Jensen could hear the barely restrained quality to Jared’s words. “Can we talk to you?”

Andrew stepped back, confusion lining his face at the seriousness in Jensen’s tone. “Of course. Have a seat.” He gestured to the empty chairs.

Jared took the lead, placing himself in between the two men. He stood back until Jensen settled in his seat then took the chair on his right. Andrew Ackles office was designed to intimidate, from the overly large desk to the large floor-to-ceiling windows that backed it. Even the chairs that fronted it were purposely low so it appeared that Andrew was staring down on the occupants. Andrew only met with people from behind the impressive oak barrier, reveling in his position of power and authority. Jared shifted, sitting up straight and taking advantage of his full height to negate some of Andrew’s lording.

“So,” Andrew drew the word out and folded his hands on top of the desk, “what did you boys want to talk about?”

“We had a very interesting discussion last night with Wendell Holmes.” Jensen leaned back in his chair, an expectant expression on his face.

Andrew looked from one man to the other and shrugged. “Am I supposed to know who that is?”

“He seemed to know you. Said you hired him and a thug named Petey to kill Heather and James and then hired them again to kill Jared.” Jensen tapped his finger on the upholstered arm of his chair.

“Jensen,” the Ackles patriarch shook his head in disappointment, “that’s ludicrous. You can’t possibly tell me you believe I tried to kill Jared and his parents just because this man said I did.”

“Cut the crap,” Jared growled. “Vincent confirmed this morning that you authorized payment to Wendell Holmes and Peter McIntyre the day after my folks’ death for _services_ _rendered_.” He pulled his gun from his shoulder holster. “Now tell us the truth.”

“Wh-what?” Andrew gave a nervous laugh. “Jared? What are you doing?” He glanced over at his son. “Jensen?”

Jensen shook his head. “Don’t look at me. If I were you, I’d give the man what he wants.”

“Jared? I don’t…”

Jared cocked the hammer on the gun. “Tell. Us. The. Truth.”

“Jared…”

The vase on a pedestal just behind and to the right of Andrew shattered, the retort echoing off the dark paneled walls. Jared quirked an eyebrow at the older man and pulled the hammer back again.

Andrew turned to see the shards of porcelain on the stand and the surrounding carpet. When he faced the boys gain, the shocked light in his eyes fell away like a mask being removed to reveal a cocky smugness. “There’s my boy.”

The framed print on the wall to the left of the desk exploded. “Careful,” Jensen warned.

“I always knew that when you tapped into it, your rage would be spectacular.” Andrew relaxed back in his chair, completely unperturbed by the two near misses on his life.

“Yeah, well, I guess I just needed the right motivation.”

A ripple ran down Jensen’s spine at the cold, detached tone from Jared, the flat inflection. It was jarring, dissonant when he was used to nothing but love and happiness from that mouth – like a needle jump on a record of lullabies. Refusing to take his eyes of his father – Rule number five never look away from your enemy and Rule number six don’t telegraph what matters to you most – Jensen turned his head minutely to the right to bring Jared into his peripheral vision.

Jared’s face matched his voice – calm, calculating and devoid of emotion. His placid expression contrasted sharply with the deadly threat his steady aim implied. Outwardly, he was the epitome of cool and collected, but Jensen knew better. He could see past the façade, pick out the tells that only someone who’d watched every smile, frown, tear and breath, had heard every laugh and heartbeat would notice. Jared was holding onto his composure and sanity with ragged fingernails. Jared was strong in mind, body, soul and spirit, but he was still only nineteen years-old. Everyone had their limits and confronting years of lies and betrayal by someone who supposedly cared for you was testing his and Jensen was afraid of what would happen when he broke.

“Exactly!” Andrew beamed, mouth split in a shark’s grin, all jagged teeth and imminent violence. “It’s all about leverage and the proper application of it.”

“So you had my parents killed as part of some experiment?” Hazel eyes took on a manic gleam. “To what? See if you could make me into some kind of…of sociopath?”

Jensen could see his control degrading and placed a hand over Jared’s clenching the fabric covering the left arm of the chair in a white knuckle grip. He knew that Jared always feared turning into the same cold-hearted monster that had murdered his parents. He’d agreed to the position in the Family as Jensen’s bodyguard, would kill or be killed to protect what he loved not unlike a cop working the beat, but had made it clear from the start that he wanted no part in enforcement. Those things were better left to men with the heart and stomach for spilt blood. Now, to find out that Andrew wanted him to become exactly that? Jensen smoothed his thumb over the back of Jared’s hand in a soothing arc.

“Not originally, no.”

Jensen jerked, hand on Jared’s squeezing unconsciously. _Did his_ … He looked at his father with incredulous eyes. The gun in Jared’s hand wavered, the muzzle dipping to point at the modesty panel on the front of the desk.

“What?” Andrew asked, a laugh in his voice. “Did you really expect me to deny it?” He shook his head making a tssking noise. “You boys should know me better than that.”

“Why?” The word left Jensen along with all the air in his lungs. Jared seemed to be having a dissimilar problem, panting like he couldn’t get enough air in.

“Rule number two, Jensen.” Andrew looked pointedly at the young men’s clasped hands. “I didn’t get to be head of this Family by being stupid or blind and I would have to be both to miss the feelings that were developing between you.”

Jared’s hand twitched and Jensen tightened his hold. He wasn’t going to hide or be ashamed of their relationship. His father wasn’t going to muddy the only good thing in his life. “I don’t understand. What do _we_ have to do with Heather and James?”

“Everything!” Andrew pushed back from the desk and stood up. Jared’s gun snapped up and tracked the older man as he paced the area behind the desk, hands behind his back like a lecturing professor. “Jared, you were such a sweet child. You had so much of your mother’s personality. And so smart. Even at twelve, you were already talking about college, about leaving. I couldn’t let that happen.”

“What did it matter to you if I went to college?” Jared seethed, patience waning at the exposition.

“Because Jensen was in love with you,” he explained simply, the professor imparting a basic concept to two particularly dense pupils. “I knew if you left, Jensen would be in the seat beside you. I wasn’t about to lose him, not even to you. I needed him to take over the Family some day.”

Jensen’s stomach lurched. His love for Jared had cost Jared his parents. Two innocent people had died because of him. Suddenly a thought occurred to him. “What about mother?”

“What about her?”

“She had to have known you were behind it.” Jensen’s eyes narrowed. “Heather was her best friend. Why didn’t she try to stop you?”

Andrew curled his hands over the high back of his leather desk chair and scoffed with a harsh, barking laugh. “Stop me? It was her idea. Right down to framing Vandermeer so I had an excuse to take him out, too. She even called and made the reservation at the Kapok House herself.” The corner of his mouth twisted up in a smirk at their floored expressions. “Oh, don’t look so surprised. Yvonne was a jealous creature. She had no desire to be a mother, but couldn’t stand that you loved and adored Heather like one. No, Yvonne was glad to see her gone.” His eyes became wistful for a moment. “She really was the perfect Family matriarch – beautiful, cunning and goddamn ruthless when she needed to be. Too bad the guilt proved too much for her. The most cowardly thing she ever did, but at least pills don’t leave a mess.”

Jared’s arm had moved to the arm of the chair, gun still trained on Andrew. His fingers moved convulsively on the pearl grip, hold tightening and relaxing with unfocused anger. “You killed my parents,” he forced the words out through gritted teeth, “because Yvonne was a pathetic excuse for a mother and you couldn’t handle the fact that Jensen would leave?”

“That and the fortuitous side effect that by taking you in, we made you loyal to me and, by extension, the Family.” Andrew leaned forward and rested his forearms on the chair back. “I always liked that about James. As much as he hated working for me, being mired in our business dealings, he would never quit. Do you know how your father ended up in my service?”

Jared stared on in stony silence, shiny silver perfectly level.

“You grandfather got in some trouble with a bookie betting against the Steelers in the Super Bowl. He couldn’t pay back the money he owed and the bookie was looking to collect…in any way necessary. I was in need of an accountant and made James a deal. He came to work for me and I paid off his father’s debt. He was so grateful that he never considered turning his back on me. That, Jared,” he looked at Jared, “is what you inherited from your father.”

Andrew sat back down in the chair and smiled at the outline of bulky gauze visible under the lapel of Jared’s jacket. “I knew you’d be the perfect bodyguard for Jensen. You just can’t buy that level of devotion. Of course, you had me worried when you made those stipulations on your employment. I thought maybe I read you wrong and you wouldn’t step up if the time came.”

“So you thought you’d hire someone to take a few shots at me and see what Jared would do?” Jensen couldn’t believe he was sitting here having this conversation. Real people didn’t do stuff like this. This was like something out of a Puzo novel.

“I had to be sure. I needed to know that you were safe.”

“Seeing as how Petey almost killed Jared, I’m not sure how you expected him to keep me safe.” Jensen gave him an unimpressed look.

“Petey,” Andrew spat, “that fucking idiot. He was only supposed to wing Jared, but he was always too much of a perfectionist. Don’t worry, I took care of him myself.”

“Enough.” Jared stood and extended his arm, taking aim with a two hand grasp. “Jen, go wait outside.”

Jensen was on his feet and beside Jared in a flash. “Jay…”

“What are you going to do, Jared? You going to shoot me?” Andrew leaned back casually, but Jensen could see the edges of doubt creeping in. Andrew was worried that the dog he’d created was going to bite him.

“That was the general idea,” Jared answered. “Jen, please, go wait with Chris and Stephen.”

“No.”

Jared turned watery hazel eyes toward him, face pained and pleading. “Don’t make me shoot him in front of you. Please.”

“Jensen won’t let you shoot me,” Andrew looked at his son with pride. Years of grooming and Jensen had learned his lessons well. “Nothing comes before family. Not even a good lay.”

Jared stared on in disbelief as Jensen wrapped a hand around the ones Jared held the gun with and gently lowered Jared’s arms. “Jen?”

“You know, Jay,” Jensen stared at the gun, their three hands encasing it, “he’s right. Nothing comes before family and we always protect family. So I’m not going let you shoot him.”

Andrew’s smile went smug.

“Unfortunately,” Jensen continued conversationally. He kept his hand on Jared’s and moved behind him, lining his front to Jared’s back and hooking his chin over Jared’s shoulder. Green eyes stared at the seated man. “You had two members of my family killed.” His free hand ghosted over the spot on Jared’s chest where padding covered a sewn bullet hole “And then tried to take the last person I had left.” He kissed Jared’s neck and trailed his fingers down Jared’s arm. His hand cupped the trio holding the gun, raising them back up level with Andrew’s heart. He looped his index finger over Jared’s on the trigger.

Andrew’s face went white as he took in the sight before him. Jensen was pressed against Jared’s back, arms bracketing Jared’s outstretched ones and hands surrounding Jared’s on the gun – his executioner with an avenging angel over his shoulder.

Jared’s finger slid out from under Jensen’s and away from the trigger, not quite sure where this was going. “Jen?” he repeated.

“It’s okay,” Jensen soothed, using his own index finger to curl Jared’s back under the trigger guard. “See? Andrew’s starting to understand. I’m not going to let you shoot him because _we_ are going to shoot him. Together.” He leaned up on his tiptoes, words whispered for Jared’s ears only. “If you’re not sure, tell me know.”

Jared squared his stance and adjusted his grip. “Together,” he nodded.

 

[ ](http://smg.photobucket.com/user/LaLaLovelace/media/ch6_zpsssdf6b21.png.html)

 


	7. Chapter 7

“So you killed him?” Lex sat dumbfounded. These were the two men that Uncle JD and Aunt Kim thought so highly of and he’d considered role models?

“Yeah.” Jared had wandered to the sideboard as he told his story. There was a velvet lined shadow box on top, a well-polished pearl handle gun nestled securely underneath the glass. Jared caressed the dark oak frame, eyes distant. “Those were the only two people I’d ever killed that didn’t have a gun in their hand. I keep this here to remind me how close the monster is to the surface, how capable I am of becoming what I hate.”

That, Lex could understand. He’d felt that darkness, touched something that threatened to swallow him, change him. It had been particularly bad before he’d gone to live with JD and Kim. They were so full of light that the blackness didn’t stand a chance. He thanked whatever was listening all the time that Jared had found him that night. Jared had saved Lex, had given him something to cleave to when the emptiness wanted to consume him. Maybe that was one of the reasons Jared had approached him on that street corner, offered him a way out that didn’t end in prostitution and eventually the real possibility of murder or suicide. Jared had seen a part of himself in Lex. “What happened after?”

Jared shrugged and turned his back on the mounted gun. “Jensen became the head of the Family and life went on.”

“Just like that? Nobody challenged the fact that you killed Andrew?” Lex was confused. Andrew had run the Family for over two decades. Surely someone had been upset at the familiar assassination.

Jared leaned back against the sideboard, hands sitting lightly on top. “Chris hit it on the head all those years ago. Andrew was a good actor and a talented liar, but above that he was not a nice man.”

“More like a sadistic son of a bitch.”

Lex spun around at Jensen’s voice. The man had stripped out of his jacket and discarded his tie somewhere since they’d returned home. His shirt sleeves were rolled up, the stark white cuffing strong forearms. He looked at ease and approachable, nothing like the Don he showed the world and Lex was struck that this was what Jensen was like when he was alone with Jared.

“That, too,” Jared acknowledged. “He ruled with an iron fist, demanded obedience and respect through intimidation and terror. When Jensen took over, he implemented a new policy.” There was pride in Jared’s voice, worship shining from his eyes.

“My dad lauded loyalty above all else.” Jensen moved beside Jared, shoulders bumping. “Didn’t care if you liked him or hated him so long as you stayed by his side. It’s been my experience that it’s better to be loved than feared.”

“He’s,” Jared began only to be interrupted by Jensen’s correction of “We.”

A shy smile quirked Jared’s mouth. “ _We’ve_ tried to take the Family back to its roots, protect the community instead of exploiting it. This area was rife with gangs and rival factions and they only became more aggressive in the wake of Andrew’s death. We approached the groups with mutually beneficial offers. Those who could see the opportunity for what it was were incorporated, those who couldn’t were dealt with. The violence that reigned in this town was curbed and we never expected those we keep safe to pay for that protection. It goes a long way toward endearing you in the heart of the people.”

“Things aren’t perfect, but they are miles from what they were.” Jensen crossed his ankles. “Every once in a while, like today, some upstart, high on too many watchings of Good Fellas and The Godfather, wants to come in and be the boss,” Jensen squeezed Jared’s hand when the young man reached over at the mention of the day’s events, “but it’s always handled quickly and with minimal impact to the community.”

Lex nodded, eyes drawn to their hands, the unguarded tenderness, now recognizing the true depth of it because he knew the story behind the touches. He forced his gaze away, feeling like a voyeur intruding on their privacy, and it landed on the most recent picture of Jensen and Jared on the mantle. They looked dapper in their tuxedoes, Jared’s a dove gray with a blue tie, Jensen’s a shade darker with a green tie, at what appeared to be a charity event. He’d only given the photo a cursory glance earlier, but now he looked past the handsome man in the foreground to take in the rest of the image. There was a banner hanging behind them and Lex got up to take a closer look at it.

The banner spanned the entire length of the far wall, the fuchsia letters standing out starkly against the white vinyl.

**6 th Annual Cottontail Cotillion**

**Presented by The J2 Foundation**

A display, visible past Jared’s arm, depicted a smiling blonde-haired, blue-eyed girl holding a battered stuffed bunny next to the header “Join Anna’s Army! Become a bone marrow donor today and help us win the battle against leukemia.”

He turned, holding out the picture. “Anna?”

“Yeah.” Jensen crossed to him, taking the framed photograph. He thumbed over the girl’s face on the board. “She inspired me to start The J2 Foundation. We raise funds for non-profit organizations. Our biggest charity is Anna’s Army.”

“Jensen is the reason this town has the largest bone marrow donor list in the United States. He personally spearheaded the campaign.” Jared put his hand on Jensen’s shoulder.

“That’s amazing.” Lex wanted to ask if Anna was okay, if she’d won her fight, but couldn’t. He was afraid to find out what happened to the little girl who’d comforted Jensen.

“It’s just money.” Jensen set the picture back in its place.

“But still…” Lex had heard of The J2 Foundation. They were connected to most of the goodwill projects in town including Aunt Kim’s animal shelter, Uncle JD’s counseling center and Dr. Milton’s free clinic down on McArthur. Through the foundation, Jared and Jensen had impacted hundreds of lives for the better and Lex hoped that one day he could do the same.

The aversion he’d felt earlier at the thought of Jared and Jensen killing Andrew Ackles, a man who’d sacrificed the innocent to get want he wanted, was gone, replaced by awe at what they’d accomplished. He’d grown up under Andrew’s rule and remembered what it had been like during that time. Even if he hadn’t benefitted from Jared and Jensen’s kindness, he could attest that things were vastly improved with them in charge.

“Alexander?”

Lex shook himself from his reverie and smiled. “Sorry. I’m fine.”

Westminster Chimes rang out pure and clear from the grandfather clock in the corner followed by the tolling of the hour. Jared frowned, glancing at the antique timepiece.

“Is it seven already? I’m sorry, Alexander. I never intended to keep you so late. That walk down memory lane was a little longer than I expected.” He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. “You should head out. Kim and JD will be worried.”

“I’ll call from the car and let them know I got tied up.” He was almost to the door when his curiosity got the better of him, forcing him to face the men again. “Can I ask you a question?”

Jared raised his eyebrows in expectation.

“Why did you tell me,” he flapped his hand trying to encompass everything that he’d heard, “all this? I mean, you could have just told me to stay out of your business and keep quiet, but you didn’t.”

Jensen and Jared shared a momentary look. Jensen moved to the couch and sat down, Jared coming over to sit on the arm next to him. “There are a few people that we trust completely – Chris, Stephen, Aldis. We don’t have to hide anything from them because they know all the secrets. We’d like you to be one of those people.”

Lex was overwhelmed at the thought of being a member of that exclusive group. Jared and Jensen’s secrets, the story of their lives, was a gift and one Lex wasn’t sure he deserved. He’d felt beholden to these men for years, but now he felt like one of them.

“Thank you.” It was all he could manage and was grossly inadequate. Jared and Jensen had saved him, gave him a family, a good life, a job and now their open acceptance…there weren’t powerful enough words to say what that meant to him.

“You’re welcome,” Jared answered warmly. “Now, go home before your aunt comes down here and has my head for scaring her.” He jerked his chin in the direction of the door. “Seriously, go! Kim might be small, but she’s scary.”

Lex laughed. “Good night, sirs.”

“Good night, Alexander.”

 

*****

 

Jensen closed the door to their room, fingers already working on unbuttoning his shirt. It had been a long day. He’d just finished slipping the last button through the hole when Jared pushed him back against the wall, kissing him for all he was worth.

They separated and Jared’s hand came up to cup his neck, feeling like a brand on his skin. A long thumb traced over the pocked scabs on Jensen’s cheeks, nose and forehead where raining glass had nicked the delicate tissue.

“God, Jen,” Jared whispered. His eyes studied Jensen’s face as if afraid they’d never see it again and needed to memorize it. “I heard the gunshots and when we got back inside I couldn’t find you. I thought…” He shook his head, brow creasing down. “I thought…”

“I know what you thought,” Jensen shushed him with gentle fingers to his lips, “but I was safe. I _am_ safe.”

“I know,” Jared pulled him by the neck and kissed him again, harder this time with more urgency. He needed to feel Jensen, alive and well, against him. He needed the confirmation that Jensen was still here.

Jensen could sympathize. It wasn’t the first time one of them had been a target, both having more near misses than either cared to admit, and he understood Jared wanting proof that he was okay. He pliantly surrendered to Jared’s inquisitive hands. He was impressed that it had taken this long for Jared to succumb to that thrumming compulsion demanding physical evidence that Jensen was unharmed.

They quickly divested each other of their clothing, dropping them haphazardly in a pile on the floor. Jared carefully pushed Jensen down on the bed, mouth creating a path of wet kisses down his torso and abdomen, paying special attention to the patches of shiny, healed skin accumulated as a consequence of their lives. He ran his tongue over the uneven skin and sucked on the raised scars. Teeth nibbled playfully at Jensen’s bellybutton and both hips before he hovered over Jensen’s crotch, hot breath making his throbbing erection dance. All the while, his fingers dug possessively into Jensen’s thighs and back and shoulders, desperation in the grip that was sure to bruise.

He licked a stripe up Jensen from root to tip just to hear him gasp. He pressed an open-mouthed kiss to the head, swirling his tongue over and around the bulbous tip and dipping into the slit to gather that delicious mix of salty-sweetness. Without hesitation he took Jensen’s whole length, years of practice and a genuine desire to please his partner lending an easiness to the motion. Jensen’s fingers threaded in his hair and Jared relaxed his throat and mind, giving himself over to his lover. Jared loved sex as a whole, but this was always his favorite part. It was all about Jensen, giving him pleasure and showing him the level of Jared’s trust in him. Jensen’s hips thrust up and Jared closed his eyes to savor the feeling of Jensen sliding into his throat. He swallowed around the obstruction and was rewarded with another sharp inhalation.

Jensen was only able to get a few more thrusts in before he felt his orgasm cresting and his balls tightening. He pulled Jared off and guided him up with the two fist hold in his hair. Letting go of the silken locks, he rolled them so Jared was underneath him. The kisses were gentler now, but no less greedy.

Jared spread his long legs giving Jensen enough room to slot between them. Jensen blindly batted at the nightstand drawer until he could get it open and retrieve the small bottle of lube they kept there. Jared’s eyelids fluttered as Jensen slowly worked him open, fingers progressing slowly and doing sinfully delicious things to Jared insides. His entire being locked down when Jensen brushed his prostate, muscles convulsing with the overload. Jared lost track of time and his higher brain functions as the small gland was assaulted time and time again, coming to with the rush of his climax at the wet, soft warmth of Jensen’s mouth on his member.

Their next kiss was salty and bitter, but Jared eagerly licked the taste like a cat lapping up cream. Jensen positioned himself and slid in without a hint of resistance. Jared threw his head back at the sudden and welcome fullness, panicked heart finally settling now that Jensen was filling up the empty place that had opened up at the restaurant. Jensen didn’t go fast, kept the rhythm slow and long so it could be enjoyed longer and felt deeper, knowing that Jared needed the connection more than the endorphin release. He stared directly into bottomless hazel eyes, gaze never wavering, and murmured reassurances against parted lips. “Right here, Jay. Not going anywhere. Love you.”

Tears trailed over Jared’s cheeks and dampened his hair, fingernails digging bloody crescents into Jensen’s back. He stared right back into jade green. “So scared. Need you. Can’t lose you. Love you.”

Jensen’s held off his orgasm for as long as he could, fighting it back until Jared was ready for his second. The moment he felt the hot, hard length against his stomach, he raced to the finish line, hand coming up to keep Jared from lagging behind. In a moment of shared ecstasy, the peaked and fell over the edge together.

They cleaned up and laid in their large bed cuddled around each other. Jensen stared at the ceiling, making shapes out of the patches of light and the odd shadows. His fingers lazily trailed up and down Jared’s back, the younger man shivering at the fleeting touch.

“You really think Lex is the best choice?”

Jared lifted his head, chin perched on Jensen’s chest. “Yeah, I do. Why? Do you think we’ve made a mistake?”

“No.” Jensen slotted his fingers through Jared’s hair and scratched his scalp. “Just wanted to see if you did. I think he’s a good choice for a successor. He’s level-headed enough to keep his calm and I’m pretty sure he’ll continue on with what we’ve started.”

Jared nodded and laid his head back down. “Don’t forget we have to go see Anna tomorrow.”

Jensen sighed, running his hand down Jared’s back to his hip. “We’ll pick up some roses on the way.”

Lifting his head again, Jared narrowed his eyes in suspicious concern. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, just dreading it, is all. I really don’t want to go.”

“You promised, Jen.” A warm palm made wide circles over his stomach and Jensen arched into the touch.

“I know,” Jensen rolled his eyes. “But, come on, I’m going to have those songs stuck in my head for a week. The last time she was over she practiced “Part of Your World” so much I actually dreamed about it that night.”

“Suck it up,” Jared poked him in the ribs. “She worked hard to get the part of Ariel and is expecting us to be in the front row. You can’t let her down, you’re her hero.”

Jensen snorted. “Right,” he snarked.

“You got all those people to sign up.”

“But you were the one who was a match.” Jensen smoothed his thumb over the tiny scar on Jared’s hip where the aspirator had been inserted to remove the life-saving bone marrow.

“It was the least I could do. She was there for someone I love when I couldn’t be.” He leaned up and kissed Jensen softly. “Now get some sleep. Anna will be heartbroken if you pass out during her big stage debut.”

“Can’t have that, now can we?” Jensen snuggled down into the sheets, Jared tight against him.

“No, we can’t.” Jared rested his hand over Jensen’s heart. “Love you, Jen.”

“Love you, too, Jay.”

 

[ ](http://smg.photobucket.com/user/LaLaLovelace/media/ch7_zps4xyhvamz.png.html)

 


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